Novel rhenium(I) polypyridine biotin complexes that show luminescence enhancement and lifetime elongation upon binding to avidin.

While most biotin-fluorophore conjugates suffer from significant emission quenching upon binding to avidin due to resonance energy-transfer, three novel rhenium(I) polypyridine biotin complexes have been designed in view of their characteristic photophysical properties, in particular their large Stokes shifts. In contrast to most biotin-fluorophore conjugates, the (3)MLCT emission intensities and lifetimes of these rhenium(I) complexes are increased upon binding to avidin, rendering them luminescent probes for avidin and biotinylated species.

Synthesis, characterization, photophysical properties, and biological labeling studies of a series of luminescent rhenium(I) polypyridine maleimide complexes.

We report the synthesis, characterization, and photophysical properties of a series of rhenium(I) polypyridine maleimide complexes [Re(N-N)(CO)(3)(py-3-mal)](CF(3)SO(3)) [N-N = 1,10-phenanthroline, phen (1), 2,9-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline, 2,9-Me(2)-phen (2), 3,4,7,8-tetramethyl-1,10-phenanthroline, 3,4,7,8-Me(4)-phen (3), 4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline, 4,7-Ph(2)-phen (4), 2,9-dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline, 2,9-Me(2)-4,7-Ph(2)-phen (5), 2,2'-biquinonine, biq (6); py-3-mal = N-(3-pyridyl)maleimide]. The X-ray crystal structure of complex 2 has been investigated. Upon excitation, the complexes exhibit intense and long-lived photoluminescence in fluid solutions at 298 K.