Issue 4, 2020

Design and applications of metal-based molecular receptors and probes for inorganic phosphate

Abstract

Inorganic phosphate has numerous biomedical functions. Regulated primarily by the kidneys, phosphate reaches abnormally high blood levels in patients with advanced renal diseases. Since phosphate cannot be efficiently removed by dialysis, the resulting hyperphosphatemia leads to increased mortality. Phosphate is also an important component of the environmental chemistry of surface water. Although required to secure our food supply, inorganic phosphate is also linked to eutrophication and the spread of algal blooms with an increasing economic and environmental burden. Key to resolving both of these issues is the development of accurate probes and molecular receptors for inorganic phosphate. Yet, quantifying phosphate in complex aqueous media remains challenging, as is the development of supramolecular receptors that have adequate sensitivity and selectivity for use in either blood or surface waters. Metal-based receptors are particularly well-suited for these applications as they can overcome the high hydration enthalpy of phosphate that limits the effectiveness of many organic receptors in water. Three different strategies are most commonly employed with inorganic receptors for anions: metal extrusion assays, responsive molecular receptors, and indicator displacement assays. In this review, the requirements for molecular receptors and probes for environmental applications are outlined. The different strategies deployed to recognize and sense phosphate with metal ions will be detailed, and their advantages and shortfalls will be delineated with key examples from the literature.

Graphical abstract: Design and applications of metal-based molecular receptors and probes for inorganic phosphate

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
22 ኖቬም 2019
First published
04 ፌብሩ 2020

Chem. Soc. Rev., 2020,49, 1090-1108

Author version available

Design and applications of metal-based molecular receptors and probes for inorganic phosphate

M. V. Ramakrishnam Raju, S. M. Harris and V. C. Pierre, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2020, 49, 1090 DOI: 10.1039/C9CS00543A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements