Cooperative Fluorescent Chemical Sensors

Timothy E. Glass
Department of Chemistry,
Penn State University



Fluorescent chemical sensors can play a critical role in the elucidation of cellular mechanisms by giving real-time information about the environment of a cell in a non-destructive manner. For these applications, sensor affinity and selectivity are of utmost concern. A useful sensor must recognize its analyte with high specificity and possess an affinity which is commensurate with the average concentration of the analyte in solution.

The highly complex and competitive nature of the aqueous cellular environment coupled with the low concentration at which some analytes are found presents a substantial challenge to the design of small molecule sensors that would be effective for biochemical applications. These issues of affinity and selectivity are being addressed by the use of cooperative recognition. The cooperative binding of multiple analytes can, in principle, impart a higher affinity and greater selectivity to a given sensor relative to a similar non-cooperative system. Two and three site cooperative receptors are being developed in order to take advantage of the favorable binding properties which cooperativity provides. Emphasis is being placed on the design of a general platform from which fluorescent sensors can be developed for a variety of analytes.

Glass, T. E. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2000, 122, 4522-4523.