Development of a novel terbium chelate-based luminescent chemosensor for time-resolved luminescence detection of intracellular Zn2+ ions

Time-resolved luminescence detection technique using lanthanide chelates as luminescent probes or sensors is a highly sensitive and widely used tool for the luminescence detections of various biological and bioactive molecules. The essential of this technique is the developments of various functional luminescent probes or sensors that can selectively recognize the biological targets. In this work, a dual-chelating ligand N,N,N1,N1-{2,6-bis(3′-aminomethyl-1′-pyrazolyl)-4-[N,N-bis(2-picolyl)amino-methylenepyridine]} tetrakis(acetic acid) (BBATA) has been designed and synthesized. The luminescence of its Tb3+ chelate is very weak, but can be selectively and strongly enhanced upon reaction with Zn2+ ions. Thus a Tb3+ chelate-based luminescent chemosensor, BBATA-Tb3+, for highly selective and sensitive time-resolved luminescence detection of Zn2+ ions was developed. To confirm the utility of new chemosensor for the detection of intracellular Zn2+ ions, the performance of BBATA-Tb3+ as a chemosensor for time-resolved luminescent imaging detection of Zn2+ ions in living cells was investigated. The results demonstrated the efficacy and advantage of the new luminescent chemosensor for time-resolved luminescence detection of intracellular Zn2+ ions.