Approaches to light-responsive, metal-ion sensors for biological systems

Abstract

The loss of articular cartilage, whether through degenerative disease, wear and tear, or accidental trauma, is a debilitating and painful condition. The work reported in this thesis describes two separate approaches towards addressing this situation. The primary focus of this work involved an attempt to help the study of cartilage damage. Two novel fluorescent probes have been prepared based on crown ether core units to which are attached photoactive side arms. The cation-binding properties of these ionophores were investigated by spectroscopic methods, extraction binding studies and fluorescence measurements. Comparison of these results with those for model compounds has provided some insight into those structural modifications which lead to enhanced selectivity in favour of Na"^ over but reduced overall binding efficiency, both factors which are critical for sodium-ion sensing within the cartilage matrix. In a brief parallel study a range of PVA-based hydrogels incorporating a hydroxyapatite gradient were synthesised for evaluation as potential replacement for cartilage tissue.

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