Mechanical bonds make lanthanides shine

Several of the lanthanide metals in the f-block of the periodic table are used as highly sensitive bioimaging agents, as lanthanide ions give sharp, long-lived luminescence signals with distinct colours. However, lanthanides are incapable of directly absorbing light and so need sensitisation from another molecule – an “antenna” – to unlock their luminescence.

In a new study, Fredrik Schaufelberger and his team from the University of Warwick and KTH Royal Institute of Technology have shown that mechanically interlocked molecules can be used to induce this lanthanide luminescence. They used organic synthesis to make a mechanically interlocked molecule (a construct held together solely by mechanical forces rather than covalent bonds) and positioned lanthanides and antennas on each different component. The resulting molecules were highly luminescent, and in addition the researchers also found that the mechanical bond gave the molecular unique dynamic properties than enabled it to sense the presence of other metals with high selectivity. The researchers now hope they can use these findings to build more accurate biosensors and new types of “smart” therapeutics.

 

Read the full study at:

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2025, e202505666;

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.202505666Link opens in a new window