Luminescent terbium(iii) probes containing an aromatic amino acid-based antenna for discrimination between adenine and guanine nucleotides

Abstract

Herein we present a series of luminescent Tb(III)-probes ([Tb-L^trp], [Tb-L^tyr], and [Tb-L^phe]) for sensing and discriminating purine nucleoside polyphosphates (NPP) based on a modified DTTA chelator appended to aromatic amino acids (L^aa). The optically most effective luminescent [Tb-L^trp] probe preferentially discriminates the guanine-NPPs over the adenine-NPPs via PeT-based modulation of Tb(III) luminescence within the biological concentration range.