The invention describes crown ether chelators, including crown ethers having the formula
1
and aza-substituted and thia-substituted analogs thereof. These crown ethers are substituted by a dye moiety, a chemically reactive group, a conjugated substance, or a combination thereof.
Chelators that are substituted by fluorescent dyes are particularly useful as indicators for metal cations, particularly Na
+
and K
+
ions, and particularly where binding of the target ion results in a change in the fluorescence properties of the indicator that can be correlated with the ion concentration. Methods are provided for utilizing reactive groups on the chelators for conjugation to dyes, lipids and polymers and methods for enhancing entry of the indicators into living cells.
这项发明描述了
冠醚螯合剂,包括具有公式1的
冠醚和其氮杂基和
硫杂基的类似物。这些
冠醚被
染料基团、
化学反应基团、共轭物质或其组合所取代。特别有用的是被荧光
染料取代的
螯合剂,作为
金属阳离子,特别是Na+和K+离子的指示剂,特别是当目标离子的结合导致指示剂的荧光性质发生变化,并且可以与离子浓度相关联。提供了利用
螯合剂上的反应基团与
染料、脂质和聚合物结合的方法,以及增强指示剂进入活细胞的方法。