| abstract |
New heterocycle compounds that produce chemiluminescence when reacted with phosphatase enzymes, methods for their preparation, and intermediates useful therein are provided. The compounds include nitrogen, oxygen or sulfur containing heterocycle ring systems with exocycle carbon-carbon double bonds. In the double bond, the terminal carbon is substituted with a phosphate group and an oxygen or sulfur atom-containing group. In addition, new compositions comprising cationic aromatic compounds (CAC) in addition to heterocycle phosphate compounds are provided. Adding CAC to the composition greatly increases the production of chemiluminescence, thereby improving detection sensitivity. The inclusion of cationic and nonionic surfactants in the composition further improves detection sensitivity. The new chemiluminescent compounds and compositions are useful in methods for light production, in assays for phosphatase enzymes and enzyme inhibitors, and in assays employing enzyme labeled specific binding pairs. |