High brightness red emitting polymer beads for immunoassays: Comparison between trifluoroacetylacetonates of Europium.

Efficiently luminescing spherical polymer particles (beads) in the nanoscale regime of up to approximately 250 nm have become very valuable tools in bioanalytical assays. Eu3+- complexes imbedded in polymethacrylate and polystyrene in particular proved to be extraordinarily useful in sensitive immunochemical and multi-analyte assays, and histo- and cytochemistry. Their obvious advantages derive from both, the possibility to realize very high ratios of emitter complexes to target molecules, and the intrinsically long decay times of the Eu3+-complexes, which allows an almost complete discrimination against bothersome autofluorescence via time-gated measuring techniques; the narrow line emission in conjunction with large apparent Stokes shifts are additional benefits with regard to spectral separation of excitation and emission with optical filters. Last but not least, a reasonable strategy to couple the beads to the analytes is mandatory. We have thus screened a variety of complexes and ancillary ligands; the four most promising candidates evaluated and compared to each other were ß-diketonates (trifluoroacetylacetonates, R-CO-CH-CO-CF3, R = - thienyl, -phenyl, -naphthyl and -phenanthryl); highest solubilities in polystyrene were obtained with trioctylphosphine co-ligands. All beads had overall quantum yields in excess of 80% as dried powders and lifetimes well beyond 600 µs. Core-shell particles were devised for the conjugation to model proteins (Avidine, Neutravidine). Their applicability was tested in biotinylated titer plates using time gated measurements and a Lateral Flow Assay as practical examples.

Spectroscopic aspects for the Yb3+ coordination compound with a large energy gap between the ligand and Yb3+ excited states.

We present the experimental and theoretical results that made it possible to propose the energy transfer mechanism for a Yb complex with a large energy gap between the ligand and Yb excited states using a theoretical model and experimental data. Absorption and emission spectroscopy in the 300-4 K range is used for the study of the Yb3+ compound with N-phosphorylated sulfonamide (Na[YbL4]), which, despite the large energy gap, is characterized by high emission sensitization efficiency (ηsens = 40%) and relatively long Yb3+ emission lifetime (27 µs). The crystal structure of Na[YbL4], radiative lifetime (930 µs), refractive index (1.46), intrinsic (3.0%), and overall (1.3%) emission quantum yield were determined. To obtain the electronic properties of the Na[YbL4], a time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) was performed. The intramolecular energy transfer (IET) rates from the excited states S1 and T1 to the Yb3+ ion as well as between the ligand and the ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) states were calculated. Once the intersystem crossing S1 â†’ T1 is not so effective due to a large energy gap between S1 and T1 (≈10000 cm-1), it has been shown that the LMCT state acts as an additional channel to feed the T1 state. Then, the T1 can transfer energy to the Yb3+ 2F5/2 energy level (WT), where WT is dominated by the exchange mechanism. Based on IET and a rate equation model, the overall emission quantum yield QLLn was simulated with and without the LMCT, this also confirmed that the pathway S1 â†’ LMCT â†’ T1 â†’ Yb3+ is more likely than the S1 â†’ T1 â†’ Yb3+ one.

Structures and Spectral and Magnetic Properties of a Series of Carbacylamidophosphate Pentanuclear Lanthanide(III) Hydroxo Complexes.

A series of pentanuclear lanthanide complexes Ln5L6(µ-L)4(µ3-OH)4(µ4-OH) (LnIII = Nd, Dy, Ho, Er, Yb; L- = dimethyl N-benzoylamidophosphate ion, [C6H5C(O)-N-P(O)(OCH3)2]-) was obtained by the reaction of sodium dimethyl N-benzoylamidophosphate with the corresponding lanthanide nitrates. The pentanuclear cores formed as a result of self-arrangement and their composition did not depend on the lanthanide ion. The complexes and sodium dimethyl N-benzoylamidophosphate have been characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The absorption spectra of the complexes were measured at 300 and 4 K. The dysprosium and ytterbium complexes exhibited weak emission in the visible and IR regions, respectively. Temperature dependences of magnetic susceptibility (χM) of the dysprosium, holmium, and erbium compounds were studied. It was found that χM vs T dependences were governed by the crystal field splitting effects with the Δ parameter being in the range 5-17 cm-1. Slow magnetic relaxation was found for the dysprosium complex by ac magnetic measurements, while no significant out-of-phase signals were detected for holmium and erbium complexes.

Contribution of Energy Transfer from the Singlet State to the Sensitization of Eu3+ and Tb3+ Luminescence by Sulfonylamidophosphates.

A series of stable lanthanide complexes Na[Ln(L)4 ] (Ln=La3+ , Eu3+ , Gd3+ , Tb3+ , with L=dimethyl(4-methylphenylsulfonyl)amidophosphate and dimethyl-2-naphthylsulfonylamidophosphate) were synthesized. The compounds were characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, IR, absorption, and emission spectroscopy at 293 and 77 K. In contrast to the usual and well-known dominant role of the ligand triplet state in intramolecular energy transfer processes in Ln complexes, in this particular new class of Ln compounds with sulphonylamidophosphate ligands, strong experimental and detailed theoretical evidence suggest a dominant role is played by the ligand first excited singlet state. The importance of the role played by the 7 F5 level in the case of the Tb3+ compound in this process is shown. The theoretical approach for the energy transfer rates was successfully applied to the rationalization of the experimental data. The higher-lying excited levels of Eu (5 DJ , 5 LJ , 5 GJ ) and Tb (5 DJ , 5 GJ , 5 LJ , 5 HJ , 5 FJ , 5 IJ ) were included in the calculations for the first time. Both the multipolar and exchange mechanisms were taken into account. The experimental intensity parameters (Ωλ ), emission lifetimes (τ), radiative (Arad ) and non-radiative (Anrad ) decay rates, and quantum yields (theoretical and experimental) were determined and are discussed in detail.