Molecular Design of Luminescent Transition Metal Polypyridine Complexes as Lipophilic Probes for Biological Molecules

Description

This project aims to design new luminescent transition metal polypyridine complexes as lipophilic probes for biological systems. It is anticipated that luminescent transition metal complexes, by virtue of their intense and long-lived emission and rich photochemical behaviour, could be exploited in the development of useful lipophilic probes. In this project, various luminescent transition metal polypyridine complexes that contain a fatty acid substituent or a long hydrocarbon chain will be synthesized and characterized. Their photophysical and electrochemical properties in organic solvents and micelle-containing aqueous solution will be studied. Additionally, the binding of these reagents to fatty acidbinding proteins, serum albumins and phospholipid membrane vesicles will be studied by emission titrations, polarization spectroscopy and emission quenching experiments. The results will be utilized in the design of new fatty acid and lipidrelated bioassays. It is expected that this project will generate a new series of biological lipophilic probes with a wide range of bioanalytical applications.