Enhanced Functionality for Donor–Acceptor Oligothiophenes by means of Inclusion of BODIPY: Synthesis, Electrochemistry, Photophysics, and Model Chemistry

Bioimaging of Lysosomes with a BODIPY pH-Dependent Fluorescent Probe

Fluorescence-based probes represent a powerful tool for noninvasive imaging of living systems in real time and with a high temporal and spatial resolution. Amongst several known fluorophores, 3-difluoroborodipyrromethene (BODIPY) derivatives have become a cornerstone for innovative fluorescent labelling applications, mainly due to their advantageous features including their facile synthesis, structural versatility and exceptional photophysical properties. In this context, we report a BODIPY-based fluorescent probe for imaging of lysosomes in living cells. The BODIPY derivative displayed a remarkable fluorescence enhancement at low pH values with a pK_a* of 3.1. In vitro studies by confocal microscopy in HeLa cells demonstrated that the compound was able to permeate cell membrane and selectively label lysosome whilst remaining innocuous to the cell culture at the maximum concentration tested. Herein, the BODIPY derivative holds the promise of investigating lysosomal dynamics and function in living cells through fluorescence imaging.

Synthesis and Characterization of Far-Red Emissive Boron-Based Triads Showing Large Stokes Shifts: Optical, TRANES, and Electrochemical Studies

Herein, we report the design and synthesis of far-red emissive boryl-thiophene-BODIPY triads 1-3. The π-conjugation length and electronic communication between borane and BODIPY moieties are tuned by judiciously varying the size of the oligothiophene spacer in these triads (1, terthiophene; 2, quarterthiophene; and 3, pentathiophene). Conjugates 1-3 showed intriguing triple emissions in the blue to far-red regions. Detailed optical, time-resolved decay kinetics, time-resolved area-normalized emission spectra (TRANES), fluoride binding, and computational studies suggest that the multiple emissions in these triads are due to an inefficient transfer of energy from the boryl-oligothiophene to the BODIPY unit. In addition, all of the conjugates showed a ratiometric fluorescence response to fluoride ions.

2-Amino-4,5-dihydrothiophene-3-carbonitriles: A New Synthesis, Quantum Chemical Studies, and Mannich-Type Reactions Leading to New Hexahydrothieno[2,3-d]pyrimidines

trans-2-Amino-4-aryl-5-benzoyl-4,5-dihydrothiophene-3-carbonitriles were prepared either by the reaction of 3-aryl-2-cyanothioacrylamides with α-thiocyanatoacetophenone or by the Michael-type addition of cyanothioacetamide to α-bromochalcones followed by intramolecular cyclization. The mechanism of the first reaction was studied using high-level quantum chemical calculations. Density functional theory (DFT) studies were carried out to determine the mechanism of the first reaction. A new approach toward the construction of the thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidine core system was demonstrated by the reaction of the prepared dihydrothiophenes with HCHO and RNH2 under noncatalyzed Mannich conditions.

Alkynoates as Versatile and Powerful Chemical Tools for the Rapid Assembly of Diverse Heterocycles under Transition-Metal Catalysis: Recent Developments and Challenges

Heterocycles, heteroaromatics and spirocyclic entities are ubiquitous components of a wide plethora of synthetic drugs, biologically active natural products, marketed pharmaceuticals and agrochemical targets. Recognizing their high proportion in drugs and rich pharmacological potential, these invaluable structural motifs have garnered significant interest, thus enabling the development of efficient catalytic methodologies providing access to architecturally complex and diverse molecules with high atom-economy and low cost. These chemical processes not only allow the formation of diverse heterocycles but also utilize a range of flexible and easily accessible building units in a single operation to discover diversity-oriented synthetic approaches. Alkynoates are significantly important, diverse and powerful building blocks in organic chemistry due to their unique and inherent properties such as the electronic bias on carbon-carbon triple bonds posed by electron-withdrawing groups or the metallic coordination site provided by carbonyl groups. The present review highlights the comprehensive picture of the utility of alkynoates (2007-2019) for the synthesis of various heterocycles (> 50 types) using transition-metal catalysts (Ru, Rh, Pd, Ir, Ag, Au, Pt, Cu, Mn, Fe) in various forms. The valuable function of versatile alkynoates (bearing multifunctional groups) as simple and useful starting materials is explored, thus cyclizing with an array of coupling partners to deliver a broad range of oxygen-, nitrogen-, sulfur-containing heterocycles alongside fused-, and spiro-heterocyclic compounds. In addition, these examples will also focus the scope and reaction limitations, as well as mechanistic investigations into the synthesis of these heterocycles. The biological significance will also be discussed, citing relevant examples of drug molecules highlighting each class of heterocycles. This review summarizes the recent developments in the synthetic methods for the synthesis of various heterocycles using alkynoates as readily available starting materials under transition-metal catalysis.

Impact of FRET between Molecular Aggregates and Quantum Dots

Energy transfer has been employed in third-generation solar cells for the conversion of light into electrical energy. Long-range nonradiative energy transfer from semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) to fluorophores has been demonstrated by using CdS QDs and thiophene-BODIPY (boron dipyrromethene, abbreviated as TG2). TG2 shows a broad photoluminescence (PL) spectrum, which varies with concentration. At very low concentrations, monomeric units are present; then, upon increasing the concentration, these monomers form a mixed (J-/H-)aggregated state. Energy transfer between the CdS QDs and TG2 was confirmed by separately investigating the interactions between CdS and the monomer of TG2 and between CdS and the aggregated states of TG2. Size-dependent PL quenching confirmed that nonradiative Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) from photoexcited CdS QDs to the J-aggregate state of TG2 was the major energy-relaxation channel, which occurred on the timescale of hundreds of fs. These results have broad applications in the field of light harvesting based on the assembly of molecular aggregates.

Crystal structure and synthesis of 3-(1H-pyrrol-2-yl)-1-(thio-phen-2-yl)propanone

The title compound, C11H9NOS, was obtained in an improved yield compared to previous literature methods. The mol-ecule is essentially planar with a maximum deviation of 0.085 Å from the mean plane through all non-H atoms. There is directive inter-molecular hydrogen bonding in the form of N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds with a distance of 2.889 (3) Å between the pyrrole amine and the ketone carbonyl O atom. The resulting hydrogen-bonding network defines a ribbon parallel to the a axis. These ribbons form offset stacks along the b axis.

Dual emissive bodipy–benzodithiophene–bodipy TICT triad with a remarkable Stokes shift of 194 nm

An acceptor–donor–acceptor (A–D–A) triad based on BODIPY and benzodithiophene exhibited a high Stokes shift of ∼194 nm, TICT and high mobility of 4.46 × 10⁻⁴ cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹.

Synthesis of N,N-disubstituted 2-aminothiophenes by the cyclization of gem-difluoroalkenes with β-keto thioamides

A novel and effective method for the construction of highly functionalized aminothiophenes via the cyclization of gem-difluoroalkenes with β-keto tertiary thioamides is described.

New 8-substituted BODIPY-based chromophores: synthesis, optical and electrochemical properties

BODIPY-based chromophores, in which an electron withdrawing difluoro-boraindacene fragment is connected via position 8 to different donor fragments, were synthesized. Their electrochemical and photophysical properties were studied. All compounds exhibit a quasi-reversible oxidation corresponding to the formation of a BODIPY π-radical cation at around 0.8 V vs. FeCp

Systematic elongation of thienyl linkers and their effect on optical and electrochemical properties in carbazole–BODIPY donor–acceptor systems

Synthesis, spectral and electrochemical properties of a series of new panchromatic BODIPY donor–acceptor–donor derivatives, comprising carbazole conjugated with systematically elongated framework by thiophene – based linkers were investigated.

Design, Synthesis and Optoelectronic Properties of Unsymmetrical Oxadiazole Based Indene Substituted Derivatives as Deep Blue Fluoroscent Materials

A series of novel unsymmetrically substituted indene-oxadiazole derivatives (3a-f) have been designed and synthesized by employing palladium catalysed Suzuki cross coupling reaction in high yields. The structural integrity of all the novel compounds was established by (1)H, (13)C NMR and LC/MS analysis. These compounds are amorphous in nature and are remarkably stable to long term storage under ambient conditions. The optoelectronic properties have been studied in detail using UV-Vis absorption and Fluorescence spectroscopy. All compounds emit intense blue to green-blue fluoroscence with high quantum yields. Time resolved measurments have shown life times in the range of 1.28 to 4.51 ns. The density functional theory (DFT) calculations were carried out for all the molecules to understand their structure-property relationships. Effect of concentration studies has been carried out in different concentrations for both absorption and emission properties and from this we have identified the optimized fluoroscence concentrations for all these compounds. The indene substituted anthracene-oxadiazole derivative (3f) showed significant red shift (λmax (emi) = 490 nm) and emits intense green-blue fluoroscence with largest stokes shift of 145 nm. This compound also exhibited highest fluoroscence life time (τ) of 4.51 ns, which is very close to the standard dye coumarin-540A (4.63 ns) and better than fluorescein-548 (4.10 ns). The results demonstrated that the novel unsymmetrical indene-substituted oxadiazole derivatives could play important role in organic optoelectronic applications, such as organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) or as models for investigating the fluorescent structure-property relationship of the indene-functionalized oxadiazole derivatives.

Direct synthesis of polysubstituted 2-aminothiophenes by Cu(II)-catalyzed addition/oxidative cyclization of alkynoates with thioamides

A facile and direct synthetic method was developed for the construction of structurally important 2-aminothiophenes in moderate to excellent yields (up to 91%), via Cu(II)-catalyzed addition/oxidative cyclization of readily available thioamides with alkynoates under an air atmosphere.

11,11,12,12-Tetracyano-4,5-pyrenoquinodimethanes: air-stable push-pull o-quinodimethanes with S2 fluorescence

The synthesis and properties of 11,11,12,12-tetracyano-4,5-pyrenoquinodimethanes (4,5-TCNPs), a new family of isolable and air-stable o-quinodimethanes, are reported. The ortho disposition of the dicyanomethane substituents strongly polarizes the pyrene framework to promote broad and intense intramolecular charge-transfer transitions. In addition, spectroscopic studies reveal that 4,5-TCNPs violate Kasha's rule and emit from the S2 level.

A borane-bithiophene-BODIPY triad: intriguing tricolor emission and selective fluorescence response towards fluoride ions

The structure and photophysical properties of a new triad (borane–bithiophene–BODIPY) 1 have been investigated. Triad 1 exhibits unprecedented tricolour emission when excited at the borane centred high energy absorption band and also acts as a selective fluorescent and colorimetric sensor for fluoride ions with ratiometric response. The experimental results are supported by computational studies.

Small molecule BODIPY dyes as non-fullerene acceptors in bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaics

A series of acceptor-donor-acceptor molecules containing terminal BODIPY moieties conjugated through the meso position were synthesized. Deep LUMO energy levels and good visible absorption led to their use as acceptors in bulk heterojunction solar cells. Inverted devices were fabricated, reaching efficiencies as high as 1.51%.

Novel bis[5-(fluoren-2-yl)thiophen-2-yl]benzothiadiazole end-capped with carbazole dendrons as highly efficient solution-processed nondoped red emitters for organic light-emitting diodes

A series of novel red-emitting bis[5-(fluoren-2-yl)thiophen-2-yl]benzothiadiazole-cored dendrimers containing carbazole dendrons up to the third generation are synthesized. Their photophysical, thermal, electrochemical, and electroluminescent properties as nondoped solution-processed red light-emitters for OLEDs are investigated. By using carbazole dendrons as the end caps, we are able to reduce the crystallization and retain the high emissive ability of a planar fluorescent core in the solid state as well as improve the thermal stability of the material. These dendrimers show a bright-red fluorescence and can form morphologically stable amorphous thin films with glass-transition temperatures as high as 283 °C. Simple structured solution-processed OLEDs using these materials as hole-transporting nondoped emitters and BCP as the hole-blocking layer emit a stable red color around 622-645 nm, with high luminance efficiencies (up to 4.80 cd A(-1) at 1.2 mA cm(-2)) and CIE coordinates of (0.65, 0.33), which are close to the pure red color.

The inorganic DMSO/POCl3 reaction with BODIPY: wide product formation and implications for biological ROS sensing and neurodegenerative disease research

We report a refined and expanded synthetic study of 4,4-difluoro-1,3,5,7-tetramethyl-8-(aryl)-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene under treatment with POCl3/DMSO. The 2-chloro-6-methylsulfide derivative (Kim TI, Park S, Choi Y and Kim Y. Chem. Asian J. 2011; 6: 1358-61.) was one of five co-eluants, including 2,6-disulfido and -dichloro species, and mono-substituted counterparts. The 8-meso tail group modifies product distribution. The different sulfur-containing products undergo different "off-on" responses with NaOCl (10 equiv.). Compounds 4b and 2b exhibit low toxicity and were found to enter juxtanuclear regions in neuroblastoma.