Red Light-Emitting Water-Soluble Luminescent Iridium-Containing Polynorbornenes: Synthesis, Characterization and Oxygen Sensing Properties in Biological Tissues In Vivo.

New water-soluble polynorbornenes P1-P4 containing oligoether, amino acid groups and luminophoric complexes of iridium(III) were synthesized by ring-opening metathesis polymerization. The polymeric products in organic solvents and in water demonstrate intense photoluminescence in the red spectral region. The polymers P1 and P3 with 1-phenylisoquinoline cyclometalating ligands in iridium fragments reveal 4-6 fold higher emission quantum yields in solutions than those of P2 and P4 that contain iridium complexes with 1-(thien-2-yl)isoquinoline cyclometalating ligands. The emission parameters of P1-P4 in degassed solutions essentially differ from those in the aerated solutions showing oxygen-dependent quenching of phosphorescence. Biological testing of P1 and P3 demonstrates that the polymers do not penetrate into live cultured cancer cells and normal skin fibroblasts and do not possess cytotoxicity within the concentrations and time ranges reasonable for biological studies. In vivo, the polymers display longer phosphorescence lifetimes in mouse tumors than in muscle, as measured using phosphorescence lifetime imaging (PLIM), which correlates with tumor hypoxia. Therefore, preliminary evaluation of the synthesized polymers shows their suitability for noninvasive in vivo assessments of oxygen levels in biological tissues.

N,N'-fused bisphosphole: heteroaromatic molecule with two-coordinate and formally divalent phosphorus. Synthesis, electronic structure, and chemical properties.

The reduction of 6,12-dichloro-1,2,3,4,7,8,9,10-octahydro-6H,12H-[1,2,3]benzodiazaphospholo[2,1-a][1,2,3]benzodiazaphosphole (3) by metallic magnesium in tetrahydrofuran (THF) affords the N,N'-fused bisphosphole 1 in 92% yield. The compound reveals a novel type of 10π-electron heteroaromatic system [NICS(0) = -11.4], containing a two-coordinate and formally divalent phosphorus atom. Compound 1 possesses a much higher coordination activity than many other diazaphospholes. This is caused by a novel type of complexation to a metal ion wherein the lone phosphorus pairs are not involved in metal coordination. Instead, the 10π-electron heteroaromatic system provides two electrons for P → M bond formation. Polarization of the ligand results in the formation of extended molecular associates or cluster compounds. Complexes of 1 with mercury dichloride [{(1)3HgCl}2(µ6-Cl)](+)Cl(-) (7) and tin dichlorides [1·SnCl2(PhMe solvate)] (8a) and [1·SnCl2] (8b) are, in fact, supramolecular in nature, containing multiple intermolecular short contacts. Crystals of complex 8a containing short Sn···Sn packing interactions were converted reversibly to metallic tin after workup with THF. The simple mixing of 1 and 3 (1:1) gave a P-P bridging dimeric species prone to easy dissociation. The addition of GeCl2(diox) to the equimolar mixture of 1 and 3 shifted the equilibrium to the formation of a poorly soluble salt-like dimer 6, which is, in fact, a stacked 18π-electron dication having a through-space delocalization of π electrons.

Chemistry of the phosphorus-nitrogen ligands. Multiple isomeric transformations of the diphosphinohydrazine bearing 8-quinolyl substituent: P→C, P→N, and P→P migrations caused by different factors.

The reaction of 8-quinolylhydrazine with 2 equiv of Ph(2)PCl in the presence of Et(3)N gives 8-[(Ph(2)P)(2)NNH]-Quin (1) (Quin = quinolyl) in 84% yield. The heating of 1 at 130 °C for 1 h in toluene results in migration of the [Ph(2)PNPPh(2)] group to a carbon atom of the quinolyl fragment to form an isomer, 7-(Ph(2)P-N═PPh(2))-8-NH(2)-Quin (2). The same migration is caused by the addition of LiN(SiMe(3))(2) to 1. On the contrary, lithiation of 1 with n-BuLi followed by the addition of ZnI(2) (1:1) affords the aminoquinolyl-phosphazenide dinuclear complex [ZnI(8-Quin-NPPh(2)═N-PPh(2))-κ(3)N,N,P](2) (4), which is a result of P→N migration. Compound 1 itself reacts with ZnI(2) in THF to form 4 and protonated molecule 1·HI, which rearranges to the more stable iminobiphosphine salt (Ph(2)P-PPh(2)═N-NH-Quin-8)·HI. Zinc iodide reacts with 2 equiv of the lithium salt of 1 without rearrangement, to form homoleptic aminoquinolyl zinc complex Zn[{(Ph(2)P)(2)NN-Quin-8}-κ(2)N,N](2) (6). Solutions of 4 and 2 in dichloromethane show luminescence at 510 and 460 nm (quantum yields are 45% and 7%, respectively). DFT calculations were provided for possible isomers and their complexes.