Luminescent chemosensors for transition metal ions

The need for selective and sensitive sensors able to monitor in real-time and real-space the concentration of analytes of biological, clinical, and environmental interest is nowadays generally accepted. Of the various kinds of chemosensors, luminescence-based chemosensors present many advantages, since they can take profit of the high sensitivity and versatility typical of photoluminescence spectroscopy. In this contest, special interest has been devoted to the development of luminescent chemosensors for transition metal ions, since some of them are present in biological systems in trace amounts and, at the same time, they all can represent an environmental concern when present in uncontrolled amounts. In this contribution we review the chemical systems able to act as luminescent chemosensors for this class of metal ions. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.