Lanthanide Complexes with Concurrent Metal-Centered Emission and Singlet Oxygen Generation

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In this project, funded by the Chemical Structure, Dynamic & Mechanisms B Program of the Chemistry Division of the National Science Foundation, Professor Ana de Bettencourt-Dias and her research group at the University of Nevada, Reno, are preparing lanthanide ion complexes capable of metal-centered light emission, while at the same time being able to generate singlet oxygen. Their long term goal is to develop new systems that can be used at the same time to image and destroy diseased tissues. This project lies at the interface of organic synthesis, coordination chemistry and spectroscopy. Students of all levels are involved in this research and Professor de Bettencourt-Dias has a track-record of working with a diverse group of undergraduate and graduate students. As part of her commitment to graduate education, she will teach a course in science writing, which has already proven valuable to previous generations of graduate students. Luminescent compounds capable of generating singlet oxygen are potentially interesting for applications requiring cell imaging and cell toxicity, such as photodynamic therapy, thus enabling cancer therapy with simultaneous imaging of the cancerous cells. The light emission ability of the lanthanide ions has been well documented, and here it is proposed to use different types of ligands, based on naphthalimide, pyrene and thiophene-phenyl-thiophene, to not only sensitize the metal-centered luminescence, but also to generate singlet oxygen. The relationships between ligand composition and resulting complex properties will be assessed using absorption, excitation and emission spectroscopy. An additional family of ligands, based on carbazole, which is known for its two-photon absorption capabilities, will be used to isolate heteroleptic complexes and enable low-energy excitation.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.