Single-molecule imaging is an important tool for understanding the mechanisms of biomolecular function and for visualizing the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of molecular behaviors that underlie cellular biology (1-4). To image an individual molecule of interest, it is typically conjugated to a fluorescent tag (dye, protein, bead, or quantum dot) and observed with epifluorescence or total i...

The ability of macroheterocyclic compounds to complex with ionic species has led to the synthesis and investigation of many multidentate macroheterocyclic species . The most stable complexes are formed between macrocyclic polyetheral ligands (crown ethers) with alkali or alkaline earth metal iona. There is an excellent correlation of the stability of these complexes with the size of the cation ...

Nanoparticles (NPs) play an increasingly important role in biological labeling and imaging applications. However, preserving their useful properties in an aqueous biological environment remains challenging, even more as NPs therein have to be long-time stable, biocompatible and nontoxic. For in vivo applications, size control is crucial in order to route excretion pathways, e.g. renal clearance...

A complete, isostructural series of complexes with La-Lu (except Pm) with the ligand TREN-1,2-HOIQO has been synthesized and structurally characterized by means of single-crystal X-ray analysis. All complexes are 1D-polymeric species in the solid state, with the lanthanide being in an eight-coordinate, distorted trigonal-dodecahedral environment with a donor set of eight unique oxygen atoms. Th...

We present a new class of polymeric ligands for quantum dot (QD) water solubilization to yield biocompatible and derivatizable QDs with compact size (approximately 10-12 nm diameter), high quantum yields (>50%), excellent stability across a large pH range (pH 5-10.5), and low nonspecific binding. To address the fundamental problem of thiol instability in traditional ligand exchange systems, the...

A new type of linear tetranuclear Ln-Ni-Ni-Ln (Ln = Dy 1, Gd 2) complexes have been prepared using multidentate ligand N,N’-bis(3-methoxysalicylidene)-1,3diaminobenzene having two sets of NO and OO’ coordination pockets which can selectively accommodate Ni and Ln ions, respectively. The X-ray structure analysis reveals that the Ni ions are bridged by phenylenediimine groups forming a twelvememb...