Fluorescence with Organic Reagents:

The inorganic substances might be analysed using organic reagents for the complex formation. The formation of fluorescent complex among the organic compound and the metal ion could be exploited in two ways. These might readily be used for the determination of metal species using organic reagent. Instead, the organic compound might be determined using metal ion as the reagent. These are known as fluorescent probes.  However, the former has far more applications than the later. In fact the later is currently an important research area.

The most effective organic reagents are the ones which could form a chelate or a ring with the metal ion through binding along with it at more than one place. This in turn needs that the organic compound has two or more functional groups. Additionally, these functional groups should be so placed in the molecule that on chelation they form 5- or 6-membered ring. Table provides a list of organic reagents that form fluorescent complexes with metal ions, the types of the complexes created and the detection limits.