Complexation study of luciferin with metal ions in acetonitrile employing theoretical and experimental methods

Luciferin complexation with some metal ions in acetonitrile has been investigated by fluorescence spectroscopy, UV-Vis absorbance, and conductometry. The complexation study was carried out based on some preliminary theoretical investigations. Formation constant values (Kf) were calculated for complex formation between luciferin and metal ions. The experimental results revealed that these cations have the ability to quench the intrinsic fluorescence of luciferin through a quenching procedure. The experimental results showed that Cu2+ ion has the best interaction with luciferin molecule. Furthermore, the pair wise interaction energy between luciferin and Cu2+ ion were also calculated employing DFT method.