Applications of Luminescence to Sensory Probes

There is considerable interest in using lanthanide complexes as probes for the presence of particular cations and anions, oxygen, etc., with obvious potential in biological, clinical, and environmental applications. Some examples follow. 

The terbium complex, in contrast, exhibits greatest sensitivity for chloride. Using the achiral ligand (R = H) exhibits similar selectivity for these anions, but with rather less sensitivity. 

this complex can be considered as a molecular NOR gate, with H+ and Oaas inputs and the Tb luminescence as the output. 

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