Special Issue "Fluorescent Metal-Ligand Complexes"

Guest Editor
Dr. Grzegorz Piszczek
Biophysics Facility Head, Biochemistry and Biophysics Center, NHLBI/NIH, 50 South Dr, Rm. 2341, MSC-8012 Bethesda, MD 20892-8012, USA
E-Mail: piszczeg@nhlbi.nih.gov
Phone: +1 301 435 8082
Fax: +1 301 496 0599

Dear Colleagues,

Fluorescence spectroscopy is the most popular optical spectroscopy method in research and analytical measurements. The wide range of research applications includes studies of structure, conformation dynamics and stability of biomolecules. Fluorescence is applied to study interactions and structure-function relationships of proteins and nucleic acids. In analytical applications it is used in trace element detection and DNA sequencing. In clinical laboratories fluorescence immunoassays are successfully replacing radioimmunoassay techniques. New applications of fluorescence usually require fluorescent probes with specific properties and while there are numerous organic fluorophores available, most of them display fluorescence lifetimes in the 1 ns to 10 ns range. Discovery of a long-lifetime polarized emission of Metal-Ligand Complexes opened a new window into the dynamic information content of fluorescence. It also allowed the MLCs fluorescence to be applied in gated detection and immunoassays. An important advantage of MLCs fluorophores is their high chemical and photochemical stability under physiological conditions. Various MLC based probes were successfully applied to measure protein-protein interactions and to obtain molecular dynamics information about proteins, DNA and lipid bilayers systems. Fluorescent MLCs remain the only class of fluorescent probes with a number of favorable properties; they have fluorescence lifetimes in the 10 ns to 1000 ns range, polarized emission, large Stocks shifts, and their absorption coefficients are high enough to allow an efficient direct excitation.

The source of MLCs fluorescence is the metal-to-ligand charge-transfer state and a careful selection of metal and ligands can generate MLCs with favorable spectroscopic and physical properties. Many laboratories continue to work on the development of new MLC based probes. Newly synthesized probes often have higher quantum efficiency, increased emission anisotropy and their properties are tailored to specific applications in biological and medical research. In this issue we explore the current progress in synthesis, characterization and applications of fluorescent Metal-Ligand Complexes.

Dr. Grzegorz Piszczek
Guest Editor

Submission

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• metal-ligand complex
• metal-ligand probes
• long lifetime probes
• fluorescence
• polarization
• anisotropy