Exposure to even very low levels of lead, cadmium, and mercury ions is known to cause neurological, reproductive, cardiovascular, and developmental disorders, which are more serious problems for children particularly. Accordingly, great efforts have been devoted to the development of fluorescent and colorimetric sensors, which can selectively detect lead, cadmium, and mercury ions. In this critical review, the fluorescent and colorimetric sensors are classified according to their receptors into several categories, including small molecule based sensors, calixarene based chemosensors, BODIPY based chemosensors, polymer based chemosensors, DNA functionalized sensing systems, protein based sensing systems and nanoparticle based sensing systems (197 references).

Fluorescent and colorimetric sensors for detection of lead, cadmium, and mercury ions

Our desire to understand how the individual molecules that make up cells organize, interact, and communicate to form living systems has lead to the burgeoning field of chemical biology, an interfacial area of science that combines aspects of chemistry — the study of matter and its transformations, and biology — the study of living things and their interactions with the environment. The defining feature of chemical biology is the use of chemical approaches and small molecules to interrogate or manipulate biology.1,2 These small molecules are synthetic or naturally occurring ones that, for example, bind to DNA to affect protein expression levels, bind to proteins to inhibit their function, interact with lipids to alter membrane integrity, or become fluorescent in response to a metabolic event. Because small molecules can affect biochemical function, there is a clear link between chemical biology and pharmacology and medicine.3 While small molecules are usually implied as being organic compounds,4 inorganic small molecules also have a long history in both biology and medicine. Ancient civilizations used gold and copper for healing purposes, and the modern era of drug discovery was ushered in when arsenic-containing salvarsan was discovered as an anti-syphilis agent to become the world’s first blockbuster drug.5 Inorganic compounds should therefore not be overlooked in the realm of chemical biology, since their distinctive electronic, chemical, and photophysical properties render them particularly useful for a variety of applications.6-8

What are the properties of metal ions that impart utility to biology? Because inorganic elements comprise the bulk of the periodic table, the diversity of these properties is likewise broad and has been thoroughly covered by several books in the field of bioinorganic chemistry.9-11 A brief summary of the general chemical properties of metals is given below.


Charge. Metal ions are positively charged in aqueous solution, but that charge can be manipulated depending on the coordination environment so that a metal complexed by ligands can be cationic, anionic, or neutral.


Interactions with ligands. Metal ions bind to ligands (both organic and inorganic) via interactions that are often strong and selective. The ligands impart their own functionality and can tune properties of the overall complex that are unique from those of the individual ligand or metal. The thermodynamic and kinetic properties of metal—ligand interactions influence ligand exchange reactions.


Structure and bonding. Metal—ligand complexes span a range of coordination geometries that give them unique shapes compared to organic molecules. The bond lengths, bond angles, and number of coordination sites can vary depending on the metal and its oxidation state.


Lewis acid character. Metal ions with high electron affinity can significantly polarize groups that are coordinated to them, facilitating hydrolysis reactions.


Partially filled d-shell. For the transition metals, the variable number of electrons in the d-shell orbitals (or f-shell for lanthanides) imparts interesting electronic and magnetic properties to transition metal complexes.


Redox activity. Coupled with the variability of electrons in the d-shell is the ability for many transition metals to undergo 1-electron oxidation and reduction reactions.





Biology has taken advantage of these chemical properties of metals to perform several functional roles, which are summarized in Table 1. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but rather a primer to highlight important themes. Some metal ions, particularly the alkali and alkaline earth metals, are stable in aqueous solution as cations, making Na+, K+ and Ca2+ ideal for maintaining charge balance and electrical conductivity.10 On the other hand, the distinct architectures accessible via metal—ligand bonding interactions impart important structural roles to metal ions that encompass both macroscopic structural stabilization, as in biomineralized tissues,12 as well as molecular structural stabilization, as in proteins and nucleic acids that are stabilized in a preferred fold by metal ions.13-16 Metal—ligand bonding is also significant in its reversibility. For example, Nature takes advantage of reversible binding of metal ions like Ca2+ and Zn2+ to proteins or other storage repositories in order to propagate various biochemical signals.13,17 Metal ions themselves can be their own signal to adjust DNA transcription, as in the case of metalloregulatory proteins.18,19 Reversible metal—ligand coordination is also exploited to bind and release molecules to and from a metal center, a prime example being O2 binding and release from hemoglobin.

Table 1

Functional roles of inorganic elements found in biology, with selected representative examples.

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Application of metal coordination chemistry to explore and manipulate cell biology.

Sensing of metal ions and anions is of great importance because of their widespread distribution in environmental systems and biological processes. Colorimetric and fluorescent chemosensors based on organic molecular species have been demonstrated to be effective for the detection of various ions and possess the significant advantages of low cost, high sensitivity, and convenient implementation. Of the available classes of organic molecules, porphyrin analogues possess inherently many advantageous features, making them suitable for the design of ion chemosensors, with the targeted sensing behavior achieved and easily modulated based on their following characteristics: (1) NH moieties properly disposed for binding of anions through cooperative hydrogen-bonding interactions; (2) multiple pyrrolic N atoms or other heteroatoms for selectively chelating metal ions; (3) variability of macrocycle size and peripheral substitution for modulation of ion selectivity and sensitivity; and (4) tunable near-infrared emission and good biocompatibility. In this Review, design strategies, sensing mechanisms, and sensing performance of ion chemosensors based on porphyrin analogues are described by use of extensive examples. Ion chemosensors based on normal porphyrins and linear oligopyrroles are also briefly described. This Review provides valuable information for researchers of related areas and thus may inspire the development of more practical and effective approaches for designing high-performance ion chemosensors based on porphyrin analogues and other relevant compounds.

Development of Ion Chemosensors Based on Porphyrin Analogues

1,10-Phenanthroline entails several appealing structural and chemical properties: rigidity, planarity, aromaticity, basicity, chelating capability. This makes it a versatile starting material for synthetic organic, inorganic and supramolecular chemistry. In this tutorial review we examine how the chemical versatility of pristine 1,10-phenanthroline, a weakly fluorescent molecule, has been exploited to design many UV-Vis-NIR luminescent organic derivatives and coordination compounds with transition-metal (Ru(II), Os(II), Rh(III), Cr(III), Pt(II), Zn(II), Cu(I), Ag(I)) and rare-earth (Eu(III),Tb(III), Yb(III), Nd(III), Er(III)) cations. They are utilized for many analytical and technological applications.

1,10-Phenanthrolines: versatile building blocks for luminescent molecules, materials and metal complexes

A highly selective and sensitive OFF-ON fluorescent sensor 1, employing the PET mechanism, was designed and synthesized. It could be used to detect Cd2+ ion in aqueous solution and to image Cd2+ ion in living cells. The fluorescence intensity significantly enhanced about 195-fold and the quantum yield increased almost 100-fold. Moreover the fluorescence intensity of 1 increased linearly with high sensitivity (0−1 μM) toward Cd2+.

A Highly Sensitive and Selective OFF-ON Fluorescent Sensor for Cadmium in Aqueous Solution and Living Cell

The metal ion complexing properties of the ligand DPP (2,9-di-(pyrid-2-yl)-1,10-phenanthroline) were studied by crystallography, fluorimetry, and UV−visible spectroscopy. Because DPP forms five-membered chelate rings, it will favor complexation with metal ions of an ionic radius close to 1.0 A. Metal ion complexation and accompanying selectivity of DPP is enhanced by the rigidity of the aromatic backbone of the ligand. Cd2+, with an ionic radius of 0.96 A, exhibits a strong CHEF (chelation enhanced fluorescence) effect with 10-8 M DPP, and Cd2+ concentrations down to 10-9 M can be detected. Other metal ions that cause a significant CHEF effect with DPP are Ca2+ (10-3 M) and Na+ (1.0 M), whereas metal ions such as Zn2+, Pb2+, and Hg2+ cause no CHEF effect with DPP. The lack of a CHEF effect for Zn2+ relates to the inability of this small ion to contact all four donor atoms of DPP. The structures of [Cd(DPP)2](ClO4)2 (1), [Pb(DPP)(ClO4)2H2O] (2), and [Hg(DPP)(ClO4)2] (3) are reported. The Cd(II) in 1 is 8-c...

Enhanced Metal Ion Selectivity of 2,9-Di-(pyrid-2-yl)-1,10-phenanthroline and Its Use as a Fluorescent Sensor for Cadmium(II)

Metal ion recognition in aqueous solution by highly preorganized non-macrocyclic ligands☆

Some metal ion complexing properties of DPP (2,9-Di(pyrid-2-yl)-1,10-phenanthroline) are reported with a variety of Ln(III) (Lanthanide(III)) ions and alkali earth metal ions, as well as the uranyl(VI) cation. The intense π-π* transitions in the absorption spectra of aqueous solutions of 10(-5) M DPP were monitored as a function of pH and metal ion concentration to determine formation constants of the alkali-earth metal ions and Ln(III) (Ln = lanthanide) ions. It was found that log K(1)(DPP) for the Ln(III) ions has a peak at Ln(III) = Sm(III) in a plot of log K(1) versus 1/r(+) (r(+) = ionic radius for 8-coordination). For Ln(III) ions larger than Sm(III), there is a steady rise in log K(1) from La(III) to Sm(III), while for Ln(III) ions smaller than Sm(III), log K(1) decreases slightly to the smallest Ln(III) ion, Lu(III). This pattern of variation of log K(1) with varying size of Ln(III) ion was analyzed using MM (molecular mechanics) and DFT (density functional theory) calculations. Values of strain energy (∑U) were calculated for the [Ln(DPP)(H(2)O)(5)](3+) and [Ln(qpy)(H(2)O)(5)](3+) (qpy = quaterpyrdine) complexes of all the Ln(III) ions. The ideal M-N bond lengths used for the Ln(III) ions were the average of those found in the CSD (Cambridge Structural Database) for the complexes of each of the Ln(III) ions with polypyridyl ligands. Similarly, the ideal M-O bond lengths were those for complexes of the Ln(III) ions with coordinated aqua ligands in the CSD. The MM calculations suggested that in a plot of ∑U versus ideal M-N length, a minimum in ∑U occurred at Pm(III), adjacent in the series to Sm(III). The significance of this result is that (1) MM calculations suggest that a similar metal ion size preference will occur for all polypyridyl-type ligands, including those containing triazine groups, that are being developed as solvent extractants in the separation of Am(III) and Ln(III) ions in the treatment of nuclear waste, and (2) Am(III) is very close in M-N bond lengths to Pm(III), so that an important aspect of the selectivity of polypyridyl type ligands for Am(III) will depend on the above metal ion size-based selectivity. The selectivity patterns of DPP with the alkali-earth metal ions shows a similar preference for Ca(II), which has the most appropriate M-N lengths. The structures of DPP complexes of Zn(II) and Bi(III), as representative of a small and of a large metal ion respectively, are reported. [Zn(DPP)(2)](ClO(4))(2) (triclinic, P1, R = 0.0507) has a six-coordinate Zn(II), with each of the two DPP ligands having one noncoordinated pyridyl group appearing to be π-stacked on the central aromatic ring of the other DPP ligand. [Bi(DPP)(H(2)O)(2)(ClO(4))(2)](ClO(4)) (triclinic, P1, R = 0.0709) has an eight-coordinate Bi, with the coordination sphere composed of the four N donors of the DPP ligand, two coordinated water molecules, and the O donors of two unidentate perchlorates. As is usually the case with Bi(III), there is a gap in the coordination sphere that appears to be the position of a lone pair of electrons on the other side of the Bi from the DPP ligand. The Bi-L bonds become relatively longer as one moves from the side of the Bi containg the DPP to the side where the lone pair is thought to be situated. A DFT analysis of [Ln(tpy)(H(2)O)(n)](3+) and [Ln(DPP)(H(2)O)(5)](3+) complexes is reported. The structures predicted by DFT are shown to match very well with the literature crystal structures for the [Ln(tpy)(H(2)O)(n)](3+) with Ln = La and n = 6, and Ln = Lu with n = 5. This then gives one confidence that the structures for the DPP complexes generated by DFT are accurate. The structures generated by DFT for the [Ln(DPP)(H(2)O)(5)](3+) complexes are shown to agree very well with those generated by MM, giving one confidence in the accuracy of the latter. An analysis of the DFT and MM structures shows the decreasing O--O nonbonded distances as one progresses from La to Lu, with these distances being much less than the sum of the van der Waals radii for the smaller Ln(III) ions. The effect that such short O--O nonbonded distances has on thermodynamic complex stability and coordination number is then discussed.

Selectivity of the highly preorganized tetradentate ligand 2,9-di(pyrid-2-yl)-1,10-phenanthroline for metal ions in aqueous solution, including lanthanide(III) ions and the uranyl(VI) cation

Gregory M. Cockrell

Papers

Enhanced Metal Ion Selectivity of 2,9-Di-(pyrid-2-yl)-1,10-phenanthroline and Its Use as a Fluorescent Sensor for Cadmium(II)

Metal ion recognition in aqueous solution by highly preorganized non-macrocyclic ligands☆

Selectivity of the highly preorganized tetradentate ligand 2,9-di(pyrid-2-yl)-1,10-phenanthroline for metal ions in aqueous solution, including lanthanide(III) ions and the uranyl(VI) cation