Diacylated 1,10-diaza-18-crown-6 as an Alternative Template for Fluorescent Sensors of Calcium Ions

Anal Sci Adv. 2024 Nov 3;5(11-12):e202400034. doi: 10.1002/ansa.202400034. eCollection 2024 Dec.

Abstract

The performance of many known fluorescent sensors for Ca2+ is pH-dependent. We set out to address this by preparing a novel calcium sensor based on diacylated 1,10-diaza-18-crown-6 and containing no basic centres. The sensor is sensitive to sub-millimolar levels of Ca2+ and partially tolerant of an aqueous environment. However, it suffers from a lack of selectivity over some other divalent cations, and retained pH sensitivity in the acidic range. The relations between these properties and the sensor's structure are discussed.