| Abstract: |
The syntheses of pyrene-functionalised bis(thiosemicarbazonato)zinc and -copper complexes are reported, In contrast to previously reported bis(thiosemicarbazonato)Cu2+ complexes which are nonfluorescent, the pyrene group remains highly fluorescent. The compounds have been characterised by using a wide range of techniques including reverse-phase HPLC, cyclic voltammetry, NMR, electronic absorption (UV/ Vis), infrared and fluorescence emission spectroscopy. Spectroelectrochemistry experiments demonstrated that: the Cu2+ complexes undergo quasi-reversible one-electron reduction at biologically accessible potentials. Density functional theory calculations were used to probe the electronic structure of the pyrene-functionalised copper complexes and confirmed that: the ligand-based fluorescent emission occurs due to the absence of orbital interactions between the pyrene and bis(thiosemicarbazonato)copper groups. These preliminary studies demonstrate that: the new copper complexes have potential to be used as dual-modality agents for in vitro cellular fluorescence microscopy and in vivo positron emission tomography experiments. © 2010 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA. |
