Luminescent lanthanide chelates and methods of use

US5639615A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• The Regents of the University of California · US

Inventors

• Paul R. Selvin · Berkeley, US
• John E. Hearst · Berkeley, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Dec 9, 1996
• Grant date: Jun 17, 1997
• Expiry date: Dec 9, 2016

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y10T436/13
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

The invention provides lanthanide chelates capable of intense luminescence. The celates comprise a lanthanide chelator covalently joined to a coumarin-like or quinolone-like sensitizer. Exemplary sensitzers include 2- or 4-quinolones, 2- or 4-coumarins, or derivatives thereof e.g. carbostyril 124 (7-amino-4-methyl-2-quinolone), coumarin 120 (7-amino-4-methyl-2-coumarin), coumarin 124 (7-amino-4-(trifluoromethyl)-2-coumarin), aminomethyltrimethylpsoralen, etc. The chelates form high affinity complexes with lanthanides, such as terbium or europium, through chelator groups, such as DTPA. The chelates may be coupled to a wide variety of compounds to create specific labels, probes, diagnostic and/or therapeutic reagents, etc. The chelates find particular use in resonance energy transfer between chelate-lanthanide complexes and another luminescent agent, often a fluorescent non-metal based resonance energy acceptor. The methods provide useful information about the structure, conformation, relative location and/or interactions of macromolecules.