Acceptor engineering for NIR-II dyes with high photochemical and biomedical performance

It is highly important and challenging to develop donor-acceptor-donor structured small-molecule second near-infrared window (NIR-II) dyes with excellent properties such as water-solubility and chem/photostability. Here, we discovery an electron acceptor, 6,7-di(thiophen-2-yl)-[1,2,5]thiadiazolo[3,4-g]quinoxaline (TQT) with highest stability in alkaline conditions, compared with conventional NIR-II building block benzobisthiadiazole (BBT) and 6,7-diphenyl-[1,2,5] thiadiazolo[3,4-g]quinoxaline (PTQ). The sulfonated hydrophilic dye, FT-TQT, is further synthesized with 2.13-fold increased quantum yield than its counterpart FT-BBT with BBT as acceptor. FT-TQT complexed with FBS is also prepared and displays a 16-fold increase in fluorescence intensity compared to FT-TQT alone. It demonstrates real-time cerebral and tumor vessel imaging capability with µm-scale resolution. Dynamic monitoring of tumor vascular disruption after drug treatment is achieved by NIR-II fluorescent imaging. Overall, TQT is an efficient electron acceptor for designing innovative NIR-II dyes. The acceptor engineering strategy provides a promising approach to design next generation of NIR-II fluorophores which open new biomedical applications.

Small molecule NIR-II fluorophores are of interest for a range of applications but can suffer from chemical and photostability issues. Here, the authors report on the development of an acceptor molecule with improved stability in alkaline conditions expanding the range of possible applications.

Fine Tuning of the Electronic Properties of Linear π-Conjugated Oligomers by Covalent Bridging

A series of oligothienylenevinylenes, pi-conjugated oligomers rigidified by ethylene bridges attached at different sites of the conjugated backbone, have been constructed by multistep synthetic methodologies. Electronic absorption spectra show that the rigidification of the conjugated system produces a bathochromic shift of the absorption maximum and a narrowing of the HOMO-LUMO energy gap, as compared to the spectra of an open-chain reference compound. The cyclic voltammograms of all oligomers show that these compounds can be reversibly oxidized into their cation radicals and dications and that rigidification produces a large negative shift of the first oxidation potential, which is indicative of a considerable increase of the HOMO level. Electrochemical data confirm that covalent bridging strongly affects the HOMO and LUMO levels and these data demonstrate that the sites of fixation of the bridges on the pi-conjugated backbone exert a determining effect on the relative stability of the cation radical and dication. Examination of these various results in the light of theoretical calculations shows that in addition to a local control of bond length alternation, and hence of the HOMO-LUMO gap, the fixation of covalent bridges at selected positions of the pi-conjugated system limits the deformation of the pi-conjugated structure upon oxidation to the charged states.

Donor-acceptor type low band gap polymers: polysquaraines and related systems

In recent years, considerable effort has been directed towards the synthesis of conjugated polymers with low optical band gaps (Eg), since they show intrinsic electrical conductivity. One of the approaches towards the designing of such polymers is the use of strong donor and acceptor monomers at regular arrangements in the repeating units, which has limited success in many cases. An alternate strategy is the use of organic dyes, having inherently low HUMO-LUMO separation, as building blocks. Extension of conjugation in organic dyes is therefore expected to result in oligomers and polymers with near infrared absorption, which is a signature of low band gaps. Squaraine dyes are ideal candidates for this purpose due to their unique optical properties. This review highlights the recent developments in the area of donor-acceptor type low band gap polymers with special emphasis on polysquaraines.

Bridged Dithienylethylenes as Precursors of Small Bandgap Electrogenerated Conjugated Polymers

Bridged dithienylethylenes (DTEs) bearing solubilizing alkyl chains at various positions (2-5) have been synthesized by McMurry dimerization of cyclopenta[b]thiophen-6-ones. In order to introduce alkyl substituents at different positions of the DTE molecule, the precursor ketones have been prepared by different strategies based on a combination of Mannich or Wittig-Horner reaction and Friedel-Craft intramolecular cyclization. The position and the length of the alkyl substituents exert a strong effect on the ability of the precursor to undergo electrochemical polymerization. Thus, whereas substitution at the alpha-position of the ethylene linkage (3) results in a rapid inhibition of electropolymerization, introduction of alkyl chains at the beta-position (4, 5) greatly improves the efficiency of the polymerization process. The analysis of the electrochemical and optical properties of the polymers shows that rigidification of the DTE molecule leads to a significant decrease of the oxidation potential and bandgap. A comparative analysis of DTE and its bridged analogues by means of X-ray diffraction reveals, in agreement with experimental and theoretical results, that the observed reduction of both the HOMO-LUMO gap of the precursor and the bandgap of the corresponding polymers are related to a relaxation of bond length alternation in the DTE moiety.