Near-infrared benzodiazoles as small molecule environmentally-sensitive fluorophores

Abstract

The development of fluorophores emitting in the near-infrared spectral window has gained increased attention given their suitable features for biological imaging. In this work, we have optimised a general and straightforward synthetic approach to prepare a small library of near-infrared-emitting C-bridged nitrobenzodiazoles using commercial precursors. C-bridged benzodiazoles have low molecular weight and neutral character as important features that are not common in most near-infrared dyes. We have investigated their fluorescence response in the presence of a wide array of 60 different biomolecules and identified compound 3i as a potential chemosensor to discriminate between Fe ²⁺ and Fe ³⁺ ions in aqueous media.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

fluorescence / probes / iron / screening / library

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