MINI REVIEW article
Front. Chem. Biol.
Sec. Structure, Spectroscopy & Imaging
This article is part of the Research TopicChemical Biology and Coordination ChemistryView all 8 articles
Metallacrowns: an ideal platform for accessing lanthanide luminescence
Provisionally accepted
Soroush Naseri
Vincent Pecoraro*- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States
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Metallacrowns (MCs) are a distinctive class of metallamacrocycles that serve as inorganic counterparts to the well-known crown ethers, in which the characteristic –[C–O–O]– repeating units are replaced by –[M–N–O]– motifs. Much like their organic analogues, the donor oxygen atoms within the MC framework can capture cations in the central cavity. The modifiable nature of MCs provides remarkable structural diversity, as both ring-forming ligands and metal ions can be varied to tune and modify the chemical and physical properties of corresponding MC. In this minireview, we focus specifically on metallacrowns bearing gallium(III) as the ring metal, highlighting their structural versatility as well as the properties and applications of GaIII-LnIII heterometallic MCs. We begin by introducing the first GaIII-based MC and trace the structural evolution of this family of MCs toward systems incorporating LnIII ions with intriguing photophysical properties that open avenues for diverse functional and applied uses.
Keywords: Metallacrowns, Supramolecular, lanthanide luminescence, Nanothermometry, White-light emission, biological imaging
Received: 16 Oct 2025; Accepted: 27 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Naseri and Pecoraro. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Vincent Pecoraro
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