Very lipophilic sodium-selective ionophore for chemical sensors of high lifetime

Abstract Ionophores based on 1,2-phenylenedioxydiacetamides with water/1-octanol partition coefficients up to 10 17 were synthesized. They have sufficient lipophilicity to be used in solvent-polymeric membranes for optrodes, ISFETs and ion-selective electrodes with a lifetime from 10 × 10 4 hours even in permanent contact with whole blood or undiluted blood serum. Selectivities of Na + over K + , Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ of 10 1.5 –10 2 and 10 4 , respectively, were obtained.