(Invited) Emissive Transition-Metal Complexes and Their Applications for Optical Sensing and Bioimaging

Abstract

Phosphorescent transition-metal complexes, such as the Pt(II) and Ir(III) complexes are attractive candidates for optical sensing (including biosensing) and bioimaging applications due to their long-lived emission that can avoid the interference from the autofluorescence of biosystems. By selecting appropriate ligands and incorporating different functional groups to the ligands, the emission color, intensity, and lifetime can be readily tuned. We have synthesized various red to near-IR emitting Pt(II) and Ir(III) complexes that can be potentially used as biosensing and bioimaging materials.