Time-resolved fluorescent chirality sensing and imaging of malate in aqueous solution.

Chiral discrimination of malates in aqueous solutions at near-neutral pH is achieved through fluorescence measurement and imaging using the europium-tetracycline complex (EuTc) as a fluorescent probe. The method is based on the significantly different fluorescence properties of the ternary complexes (Eu-Tc-malate) formed between EuTc and the enantiomeric malates. The enantiomeric excess (ee) of chiral malates can be quantified by both steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence, using either a conventional fluorescence microplate reader or fluorescence imaging. It offers a facile and sensitive method for high-throughput chiral discrimination.