Impact of Quinoline Amide Substituents on the Luminescence and PARACEST MRI properties of Bimodal Europium (III) Complexes

Lanthanide ions exhibit optical imaging properties; however, the amount of energy needed to directly excite these ions could potentially be damaging to biological tissue. To overcome this limitation, organic chromophores, such as quinolines, can be used to absorb the excited light and transfer the energy obtained to the attached lanthanide ion. This intramolecular energy transfer results in the sensitization of the lanthanide ion luminescence. The goal of this project is to assess how the amide proton position in relation to the quinoline substituent affects the sensitivity of luminescence and the optical imaging properties of Europium (III) complexes. To achieve this goal, a library of quinoline containing lanthanide complexes will be synthesized and their luminescence and PARACEST MRI properties evaluated. A quinoline substituted Europium (III) complex has been successfully synthesized and characterized by ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR. Future plans include completion of the library of complexes as well as testing of their luminescence and PARACEST MRI characteristics.