Synthesis and Study of a New Fluorescent Sensor for Zinc Ions

Many fluorescent sensors for cations use photoinduced electron transfer (PET) between a chromophore and a receptor to generate or quench a fluorescence signal. We have developed a PET sensor that uses bis-(2-picolyl)amine as the receptor and it generates a fluorescence signal for protons as well as zinc ions. We plan to modify this sensor so that it will generate a fluorescence signal for zinc ions and not for protons. This is based on our observation that an additional aromatic ring attached to the chromophore can generate a new PET process when the tertiary nitrogen of the receptor is protonated. Our progress in the synthesis of this new sensor will be presented.