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Updated: Nov 19, 2025

A Novel Technique for Generating and Observing Chemiluminescence in a Biological Setting
Published on: March 9, 2017
Exploring the Ability of Luminescent Metal Assemblies to Bind and Sense Anionic or Ionizable Analytes A
Luca Conti1, Liviana Mummolo2, Giammarco Maria Romano1
1Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", Università degli Studi di Firenze, via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy.
Abstract:
The synthesis of a new RuII complex, in which the metal is coordinated by two 1,10-phenanthroline ligands and a 2,2'-bipyridyl unit linked, via methylene bridges in its 4 and 4' positions, to two 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane (cyclen) macrocycles ([Ru(phen)2 L]2+) is reported. Protonation and ZnII binding by [Ru(phen)2 L]2+ have been analyzed by potentiometric titration, evidencing the formation of mixed hetero-binuclear and hetero-trinuclear ZnII/RuII complexes. These complexes were tested as bis-phenol A (BPA) binders. Only the dizinc complex with [Ru(phen)2 L]2+ is able to bind BPA in aqueous solution, affording a remarkably stable {Zn2[Ru(phen)2 L]BPA(H-2)}4+ adduct at neutral pH, in which BPA is bound in its doubly deprotonated form to the two ZnII ions. BPA binding was found to quench the luminescence emission of the RuII(phen)2bipy core. Although the quenching effect is modest, this study demonstrates that appropriately designed dizinc complexes can be used for binding and optical sensing of BPA in water.
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