Lanthanides, ligand design

The intrinsic properties of the lanthanide elements guarantee promising applications in the fields of catalysis and material science. How to cope with these features on a molecular level and under anaerobic conditions is discussed, including thermodynamic and kinetic considerations. Due to the importance of a prolific metal/ligand synergism, current developments in ligand design are emphasized. 

Ligand design for lanthanide precatalysts gradually attains the high level of variety and sophistication evidenced by d-transition metals [27]. Adaptation of the prevailing precatalyst types (cyclopentadienyl-, alkoxide-, 0-diketonate-based) to the requirements of highly enantioselective catalysis is represented by Structures 1-3. 

Ligand Design in Modern Lanthanide Chemistry 343 12.2.7 Tethered A -heterocyclic carbenes... 

Adjuvants such as fluoride ions, were shown to suppress the quenching effect from uric acid present in serum sample [10]. Additionally, a lanthanide complex designed for ceU-based assay should be insensitive to luminescence quenching by azide [27], which is a common internalization inhibitor used in ligand-receptor binding studies [28]. 

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