Organotin-flavone complexes: a new class of fluorescent probes for F1F0ATPase.

Fluorescent 5-coordinate organotin-flavone complexes of 3-hydroxy-flavone (Hof) and 3,5,7,2',4',-pentahydroxyflavone (morin) are good inhibitors of mitochondrial F1F0ATPase but do not inhibit F1-ATPase and they have been examined as possible fluorescent probes of F1F0ATPase. R2SnX (morin) complexes exhibit low fluorescence enhancement on binding to mitochondrial membranes with no displacement by equimolar tributyltin. In contrast R2SnX (of) complexes exhibit high fluorescence enhancement whose extent is variable and is displacable by equimolar tributyltin. Fluorescence enhancement by R2SnX (of) complexes correlates with the ATPase I50 values. Dialkyltin-3-hydroxy flavone, R2SnX(of), complexes act as a new class of fluorescent probes which titrate the F0 segment of F1F0ATPase.