Synthesis, crystal structure, photophysical property and bioimaging application of a series of Zn(II) terpyridine complexes

Publication date: Available online 25 May 2019Source: Journal of Molecular StructureAuthor(s): Hui Wang, Fengze Cai, Dexiang Feng, Le Zhou, Di Li, Yan Wei, Zhijun Feng, Jun Zhang, Jing He, Yunjun WuAbstractMetal complexes are expected to serve as efficient imaging probes to understand the biological process. In this work, a series of new ZnX2 (X = Cl, Br, I) complexes (DMT-ZnCl2, DMT-ZnBr2 and DMT-ZnI2) based on terpyridine were synthesized and fully characterized. X-ray crystal structure analysis demonstrate that the coplanarity within the molecules presents a certain regularity (DMT-ZnCl2 > DMT-ZnBr2 > DMT-ZnI2). The photophysical studies demonstrate the absorption bands showed a regular bathochromic-shift from DMT-ZnCl2 to DMT-ZnI2 along with the fluorescence intensity and the quantum yields decreasing. Biological tests reveal that all the Zn(II) complexes possess low cytotoxicity, good membrane permeability and good photostability, and exhibit a strong fluorescence in the cytosolic space in living Hela cells. Given mentioned above, the Zn(II) complexes can act as a promising candidate for biological imaging agent.

Source: Journal of Molecular Structure - May 26, 2019 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research