• lanthanides
• lanthanide complex
• glycoconjugation
• click chemistry
• diagnostic agents
• molecular probes
• glycoconjugated complex

Our work focused on synthesizing triazacyclononane azamacrocycle based Europium and Terbium complexes, bearing an appropriate carbohydrate-functionalized antenna. The glycoconjugation approach is often applied to metal complexes to improve critical properties including water solubility and biocompatibility; moreover, the presence of sugar moieties represents a possible interaction site between the complex and biological structures such as GLUTs. These glucose transporters are overexpressed in cancerous cells as a consequence to their dysregulated glucose metabolism compared to healthy cells, making it a powerful tool to obtain selectivity in therapeutic or diagnostic molecule agents. The glycosydic portion was introduced by click chemistry Copper-(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC).