Development of highly sensitive and selective molecules for detection of spermidine and spermine.

To establish an effective and concise procedure for determining the concentrations of spermidine and spermine, several functional molecules based on phenolphthalein and two crown loops were constructed. Host 5 with a dimethylamino group showed excellent selectivity for spermidine and spermine among other biogenic amines and high sensitivity compared with basic host 1.