University of Kentucky
Effect of Chirality on the Selectivity of Ionophores for Anions
Institution
University of Kentucky
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Leonidos Bachas
Abstract
The design and synthesis of new ionophores has been the focus of extended scientific effort in the field of membrane-based ion-selective electrodes. In this work the development and characterization of ion-selective electrodes that incorporate ionophores synthesized by combinatorial approach is presented. The ionophores that are studied employ an urea functionality attached to different hydrophobic structural elements as the basic building block component. The two nitrogens on the urea unit are available to form hydrogen bonds with the oxygens of oxoanions, such as phosphate, sulfate, and acetate. In addition, this building block contains two chiral centers, and by using different enantiomers, we can obtain different ionophore conformations, which play a significant role in the selectivity of the resultant ion-selective electrodes.
Effect of Chirality on the Selectivity of Ionophores for Anions
The design and synthesis of new ionophores has been the focus of extended scientific effort in the field of membrane-based ion-selective electrodes. In this work the development and characterization of ion-selective electrodes that incorporate ionophores synthesized by combinatorial approach is presented. The ionophores that are studied employ an urea functionality attached to different hydrophobic structural elements as the basic building block component. The two nitrogens on the urea unit are available to form hydrogen bonds with the oxygens of oxoanions, such as phosphate, sulfate, and acetate. In addition, this building block contains two chiral centers, and by using different enantiomers, we can obtain different ionophore conformations, which play a significant role in the selectivity of the resultant ion-selective electrodes.