In this thesis, two different potential fluorescent probes for metal ions and four potential anticancer drugs have been designed, synthesised, characterised and studied for their metal binding properties and biological applications.This report aims to design and synthesise amino acid-derived ligands as potential metal ion sensors in biological and aqueous systems. Metal ions play many pivotal roles in biological systems such as catalysing biochemical reactions and creating action potentials allowing for the movement of organisms. Dysfunction of such metals can contribute to the development of diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Wilson’s disease. As a result, the biological roles of metal ions are of great intrigue to many scientists in multiple fields. These researchers depend upon the development of more ideal fluorescent sensors for metal ions to conduct their investigations. Unfortunately, current fluorescent probes for metal ions have limitations such as poor selectivity to their analyte, weak fluorescence intensity, and are often unsuitable for biological application due to poor water solubility, and high cytotoxicity. Therefore, the development of new probes is important to enhance the knowledge of metal ions in biology and medicine.The fluorescent sensors synthesised in this thesis report that undergo cell viability assays with low effective concentration (EC) values are declared inappropriate for biological metal sensing. Their high cytotoxicity is therefore explored as potential anticancer agents when bound to lanthanides. Cancer constitutes to the top three of the total world’s deaths. Platinum-based anticancer drugs have been the focal point of many chemotherapies used to treat cancer-related illnesses, however, are limited with intrinsic resistance and have negative side-effects due to a lack of cell selectivity. Other metal-based therapies, such as lanthanides-based therapies, have come of intrigue as potential substitutes for platinum-based drugs due to their unique properties. Despite the potential of lanthanide complexes as alternative anticancer therapies, this area of research has not received much attention
