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Undergraduate Research Overview
David R. McMillin

 

Platinum(II) Polypyridines as Luminescent Probes and DNA Binders

The family of polypyridine complexes of platinum(II) are of interest in part because they undergo DNA-binding interactions and show potential for therapeutic activity. Our focus is on luminescent systems. The 2,2';6',2"-terpyridine (trpy) ligand offers advantages and disadvantages in this regard. Introduction of electron donating groups at the 4' position of the trpy ligand enhance the emission yield and the lifetime because the emitting excited state takes on intraligand charge-transfer character. More recently, we have begun to investigate a fused-ring analogue, php = 2-(2'-pyridyl)-1,10-phenenathroline. In dichloromethane the Pt(php)Cl+ complex exhibits a structured emission with a lifetime of 230 ns. Positionally dependent ring-substitution effects are profound and yield excited-state lifetimes of many microseconds. Moreover, the emission signals are quite sensitive to DNA binding interactions and reveal changes in the mode of binding.