Photo‐ and Electrochemical Dual‐Responsive Iridium Probe for Saccharide Detection

Sensing strategies for dual detection systems are of interest for rapid, accurate data collection in in vitro testing. We introduce an Ir(III) complex with a boronic acid binding receptor site on the 2-phenylpyridine ligand as an ideal probe with photo- and electro- chemical signals, sensitive to changes of monosaccharide binding. The complex displays orange luminescence at 618 nm which is reduced in intensity upon binding of the monosaccharides, 70 % and 40% for fructose and glucose, respectively. The electrochemiluminescent signal of the complex shows a direct response to monosaccharide binding. The complex's luminescence is also responsive to monosaccharide presence in cancer cells. The Ir(III) complex shows the same response upon incorporation into hydrogel matrices, demonstrating the potential of its integration into a device, as a non-toxic, simple to use tool to observe sugar binding in physiologically relevant pH ranges and saccharide concentrations.