As the "energy currency" of cells, adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP) is widely involved in the storage and transfer of energy in organisms and plays a very significant role in life activities. In this paper, a simple terpyridine-based probe (Tpy-Zn) was investigated with the aim of developing a selective sensor for ATP over other phosphate anions. The results show a 5-fold fluorescence enhancement for the selective response to adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in ethanol. The sensing mechanism was investigated and π-π interactions and metal anion coordination between ATP and the probe (Tpy-Zn) were found. With a low detection limit of 0.15 μM, the probe can also be used for ATP detection in real water samples.

5′-三磷酸腺苷（ATP）作为细胞的“能量货币”，广泛参与生物体内能量的储存和转移，在生命活动中发挥着非常重要的作用。在本文中，研究了一种简单的三联吡啶探针（Tpy-Zn），目的是开发一种相对于其他磷酸根阴离子的 ATP 选择性传感器。结果显示，对乙醇中三磷酸腺苷 (ATP) 的选择性响应荧光增强了 5 倍。研究了传感机制，发现了 ATP 和探针 (Tpy-Zn) 之间的 π-π 相互作用和金属阴离子配位。该探针的检测限低至 0.15 μM，还可用于实际水样中的 ATP 检测。