Aggregation induced emission of a new naphthyridine-ethynyl-gold(i) complex as a potential tool for sensing guanosine nucleotides in aqueous media.

A new organometallic alkynyl-gold(i) complex capable of exhibiting aggregation induced emission was designed and synthesized. The linear complex structure possesses a central Au(i) atom, bearing two axial ligands: (1) 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane and (2) 2-acetamido-7-ethynyl-1,8-naphthyridine. While the former accounts for its partial solubility in an aqueous environment, the latter acts as a receptor unit for binding guanosine nucleotides and derivatives via multiple hydrogen bonding interactions. At high concentrations, aggregation of the complex was observed by the formation of new absorption (λ