A molecular probe for recognizing the size of hydrophobic cavities based on near-infrared absorbing diradical-Pt(II) complexes.

A diradical-platinum(II) complex was able to recognize the subtle difference in cavity size between β- and γ-cyclodextrin with on-off switching of intense near-infrared absorption. This provides a new probe for identifying the size of hydrophobic cavities, which has been successfully applied here to differentiate human serum albumin from α-chymotrypsin.