Luminescent crown ether amino acids: selective binding to N-terminal lysine in peptides.

Crown ether amino acids (CEAAs) with a luminescent phthalic ester or phthalimide moiety have been prepared. Simple peptide chemistry covalently tethers the macrocycles to give ditopic ammonium-ion binders. The binding events of both crown ether groups are monitored independently by changes of their specific emission properties. The affinity of the bis-CEAA to bis-ammonium ions is distance dependent, which allows distinguishing between isomeric small peptides containing a lysine residue in different positions.