Apart from its high affinity for potassium cations, 18-crown-6 can also bind to protonated amines and form very stable complexes in both solution and the gas phase. Some amino acids, such as lysine, contain a primary amine on their side chains. Those protonated amino groups can bind to the cavity of 18-crown-6 and form stable complexes in the gas phase. Hydrogen-bonds are formed between the three hydrogen atoms of protonated amines and three oxygen atoms of 18-crown-6. These hydrogen-bonds make the complex a stable adduct. By incorporating luminescent substituents into their backbone, these compounds have proved to be sensitive ion probes, as changes in the absorption or fluorescence of the photoactive groups can be measured for very low concentrations of metal present. Some attractive examples include macrocycles, incorporating oxygen and/or nitrogen donors, that are attached to polyaromatic species such as anthracenes (via the 9 and/or 10 positions) or naphthalenes (via the 2 and 3 positions). Some modifications of dye ionophores by crown ethers exhibit extinction coefficients that are dependent on the chain lengths of chained cations.