The spermine-based hydroxypyridonate octadentate chelator 3,4,3-LI(1,2-HOPO) was investigated for its ability to act as an antennae that sensitizes the emission of Sm{sup III}, Eu{sup III}, and Tb{sup III} in the Visible range (Φ{sub tot} = 0.2 - 7%) and the emission of Pr{sup III}, Nd{sup III}, Sm{sup III}, and Yb{sup III} in the Near Infra-Red range, with decay times varying from 1.78 μs to 805 μs at room temperature. The particular luminescence spectroscopic properties of these lanthanide complexes formed with 3,4,3-LI(1,2-HOPO) were used to characterize their respective solution thermodynamic stabilities as well as those of the corresponding La{sup III}, Gd{sup III}, Dy{sup III}, Ho{sup III}, Er{sup III}, Tm{sup III}, and Lu{sup III} complexes. The remarkably high affinity of 3,4,3-LI(1,2-HOPO) for lanthanide metal ions and the resulting high complex stabilities (pM values ranging from 17.2 for La{sup III} to 23.1 for Yb{sup III}) constitute a necessary but not sufficient criteria to consider this octadentate ligand an optimal candidate for in vivo metal decorporation. The in vivo lanthanide complex stability and decorporation capacity of the ligand were assessed, using the radioactive isotope {sup 152}Eu as a tracer in a rodent model, which provided a direct comparison with the in vitro thermodynamic results and demonstrated the great potential of 3,4,3-LI(1,2-HOPO) as a therapeutic metal chelating agent.
