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Updated: May 14, 2026

Synthesis and Calibration of Phosphorescent Nanoprobes for Oxygen Imaging in Biological Systems
Published on: March 3, 2010
A pyrene- and phosphonate-containing fluorescent probe as guest molecule in a host polymer matrix
Elise Villemin1, Benjamin Elias, Michel Devillers
1Institute of Condensed Matter and Nanosciences, Molecules, Solids and Reactivity-MOST, Université Catholique de Louvain, Bâtiment Lavoisier, Place Louis Pasteur 1, L4.01.02, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
Abstract:
New host-guest materials have been prepared by incorporation of a home-made organic probe displaying a pyrene motif and a phosphonate function into a regular amphiphilic copolymer. Using powder X-Ray diffraction, photoluminescence and FT-IR spectroscopy, we have been able to study the non-covalent interactions between the host matrix and the guest molecule in the solid state. Interestingly, we have shown that the matrix directs the guest spatial localization and alters its properties. Thanks to the comparison of pyrene vs. N-pyrenylmaleimide derivatives, the influence of the chemical nature of the guest molecules on the non-covalent interactions with the host have been studied. In addition, using polyethylene glycol as a reference host, we have been able to evidence a true matrix effect within our new insertion materials. The phosphonated guest molecule appears to be a novel probe targeting the hydrophilic domain of the host copolymer.
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