Reversible fluorous phase-switching of pyridyl-tagged porphyrins: Application to the sensing of histamine in water

Upon stirring a chloroform/perfluorodecalin biphasic system, the 5,10,15,20-tetrapyridyl porphyrin (TPyP) solubilized in the organic phase was almost quantitatively extracted (similar to 99.9%) into the fluorous phase containing an excess of the heavy fluorous copper(II)-carboxylate complex 1. The porphyrin was quantitatively and almost instantaneously released into the chloroform after addition of excess tetrahydrofuran (THF), which successfully competed with the pyridine ligand for binding sites on complex 1. Metallation of TPyP by copper(II) ions was never observed during the catch-and-release process. With the 5,10,15-tripyridyl-20-phenylporphyrin (TPyMPP) or the 5,15-dipyridyl-10,20-diphenylporphyrin (trans-DPyDPP) both efficient extraction (98%) and metallation occurred simultaneously leading to the immobilization of the metallated copper(II)-porphyrins in the fluorous phase. The metalloporphyrins were quantitatively released in the organic phase by addition of THE With the 5-pyridyl-10,15,20-triphenylporphyrin (MPyTPP) no extraction but rapid metallation was observed under biphasic stirring leading to the quantitative recovery of the Cu2+-metalloporphyrin in the organic phase. The catch-and-release methodology of TpyP was exploited to develop a triphasic C6F14/DCM/water indicator displacement assay (IDA) for histamine in which the receptor-indicator complex is compartimentalized in the perfluorocarbon. It has been shown that in such IDA methodology the fluorous phase can play the role of a membrane impervious to water, allowing the detection of histamine in water at micromolar concentrations. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.