Molecular design and synthesis of methoxy-substitued spiropyrans with photomodulated NIR-fluorescence.

This study focuses on the molecular design and synthesis of salt spiropyrans with near-IR fluorescence. The structure of the obtained compounds was confirmed by NMR, IR and mass spectroscopy. In the course of studying the spectral and photoluminescent characteristics, it was possible to reveal the effect of some substituents in various positions on the properties of spiropyran dyes. Due to the structural similarity of one of the isomers to cyanine dyes, the obtained compounds are of interest as potential fluorescent probes for bioimagimg, in particular, for DNA studies. To reveal their ability of binding to DNA molecules molecular docking was carried out. Toxic effects of compounds demonstrating NIR fluorescence were studied on biofilms, as well as using bacterial lux-biosensors.

Novel Indoline Spiropyrans Based on Human Hormones ß-Estradiol and Estrone: Synthesis, Structure, Chromogenic and Cytotoxic Properties.

The introduction of a switchable function into the structure of a bioactive compound can endow it with unique capabilities for regulating biological activity under the influence of various types of external stimuli, which makes such hybrid compounds promising objects for photopharmacology, targeted drug delivery and bio-imaging. This work is devoted to the synthesis and study of new spirocyclic derivatives of important human hormones-ß-estradiol and estrone-possessing a wide range of biological activities. The obtained hybrid compounds represent an indoline spiropyrans family, a widely known class of organic photochromic compounds. The structure of the compounds was confirmed by 1H and 13C NMR, IR, HRMS and single-crystal X-ray analysis. The intermolecular interactions in the crystals of spiropyran (3) were defined by Hirshfeld surfaces and 2D fingerprint plots, which were successfully acquired from CrystalExplorer (v21.5). All target hybrids demonstrated pronounced activity in the visible region of the spectrum. The mechanisms of thermal isomerization processes of spiropyrans and their protonated merocyanine forms were studied by DFT methods, which revealed the energetic advantage of the protonation process with the formation of a ß-cisoid CCCH conformer at the first stage and its further isomerization to more stable ß-transoid forms. The proposed mechanism of acidochromic transformation was confirmed by the additional NMR study data that allowed for the detecting of the intermediate CCCH isomer. The study of the short-term cytotoxicity of new spirocyclic derivatives of estrogens and their 2-formyl-precursors was performed on the HeLa cell model. The precursors and spiropyrans differed in toxicity, suggesting their variable applicability in novel anti-cancer technologies.

New cationic spiropyrans with photoswitchable NIR fluorescence.

Visible-light-mediated photochromic compounds with NIR absorption and fluorescence are of great interest for use in different biomedical applications. In this work, new representatives of spiropyrans with conjugated cationic 3H-indolium substituents in different positions of 2H-chromene moiety were synthesized. The electron-donating methoxy groups were introduced in the uncharged indoline and charged indolium cycles to form the effective conjugation chain between the hetarene moiety and the cationic fragment for reaching NIR absorption and fluorescence. The molecular structure and the effects of cationic fragment position on the mutual stability of the spirocyclic and merocyanine forms of compounds were carefully studied in the solutions and solid state by NMR, IR, HRMS, single-crystal XRD, and quantum chemical calculations. It was found that the obtained spiropyrans demonstrate positive or negative photochromism depending on the cationic fragment's position. One of spiropyrans has shown bidirectional photochromic properties induced exclusively by visible light of different wavelengths in both directions. The photoinduced merocyanine forms of compounds possessed far-red shifted absorption maxima and NIR fluorescence, which makes them prospective fluorescent probes for bioimaging.

Synthesis, conformational stability and molecular structure of 4-aryl- and 4,5-diaryl-1,8-bis(dimethylamino)naphthalenes.

4-Bromo- and 4,5-dibromo-1,8-bis(dimethylamino)naphthalenes were arylated with arylboronic acids under Suzuki reaction conditions to provide 4-aryl- and 4,5-diaryl-1,8-bis(dimethylamino)naphthalenes, respectively. The interaction of 4,5-dibromo-1,8-bis(dimethylamino)naphthalene with pyridin-3-ylboronic acid was accompanied by heterocyclization leading unexpectedly to the formation of N3,N3,N4,N4-tetramethylacenaphtho[1,2-b]pyridine-3,4-diamine. Dynamic 1H NMR experiments showed fast interconversion between syn and anti conformers of 4,5-diaryl-1,8-bis(dimethylamino)naphthalenes in CDCl3 solution at room temperature. The free energy of the rotational isomerization was determined to be ∼14.0 kcal mol-1 for 4,5-di(m-tolyl) and 4,5-di(naphthalen-2-yl) derivatives. X-ray analysis of 4,5-diaryl-1,8-bis(dimethylamino)naphthalenes revealed a high degree of structural deformation due to internal steric repulsions between both peri-dimethylamino and peri-aryl groups. In crystals, 4,5-di(naphthalen-1-yl)-1,8-bis(dimethylamino)naphthalene molecules exist exclusively in the most stable anti-out form, while for 4,5-di(naphthalen-2-yl) and 4,5-di(m-tolyl) counterparts, only the syn-form is realized. The introduction of two peri-aryl substituents in the 1,8-bis(dimethylamino)naphthalene scaffold affected the basic properties, making the 4,5-diphenyl derivative 0.7 pKa units less basic. The protonation of 4,5-diaryl-1,8-bis(dimethylamino)naphthalenes leads to dramatic changes in their structures. Compared to the corresponding bases, the inter-nitrogen distance in these salts noticeably decreases whereas peri-aromatic rings move away from each other demonstrating the so-called "clothespin effect". This lowers the barriers of syn/anti-isomerization; as a result, protonated molecules with peri-m-tolyl and even peri-(naphthalen-2-yl) substituents exist in crystals as mixtures of rotamers.

Synthesis, Structure, Spectral-Luminescent Properties, and Biological Activity of Chlorine-Substituted N-[2-(Phenyliminomethyl)phenyl]-4-methylbenzenesulfamide and Their Zinc(II) Complexes.

New azomethine compounds of 2-(N-tosylamino)benzaldehyde or 5-chloro-2-(N-tosylamino)benzaldehyde and the corresponding chlorine-substituted anilines, zinc(II) complexes based on them have been synthesized. The structures of azomethines and their complexes were determined by elemental analysis, IR, 1H NMR, X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. It is found that all ZnL2 complexes have a tetrahedral structure according to XAFS and X-ray diffraction data. The photoluminescent properties of azomethines and zinc complexes in methylene chloride solution and in solid form have been studied. It is shown that the photoluminescence quantum yields of solid samples of the complexes are an order of magnitude higher compared to the solutions and range from 11.34% to 48.3%. The thermal properties of Zn(II) complexes were determined by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry. The TGA curves of all the compounds suggest their high thermal stability up to temperatures higher than 290 °C. The electrochemical properties of all complexes were investigated by the cyclic voltammetry method. The multilayered devices ITO/PEDOT:PSS/NPD/Zn complex/ TPBI/LiF/Al with wide electroluminescence (EL) color range spanning the range from bluish-green (494 nm) to green (533 nm) and the high values of brightness, current and power efficiency were fabricated. The biological activity of azomethines and zinc complexes has been studied. In the case of complexes, the protistocidal activity of the zinc complex with azomethine of 5-chloro-2-(N-tosylamino)benzaldehyde with 4-chloroaniline was two times higher than the activity of the reference drug toltrazuril.

Photoinduced Skeletal Rearrangement of Diarylethenes: Photorelease of Lewis Acid and Synthetic Applications.

The skeletal photorearrangement including 6π-electrocyclization induced by UV light of ortho-halogen-substituted diarylethenes has been studied. It has been found that the reaction pathways leading to bi- or tricyclic frameworks depend on the kind of halogen substituent and solvent. Photocyclization with halogen abstraction leads to bicyclic fused aromatics, while the tricyclic frameworks are formed due to the tandem 6π-electrocyclization/sigmatropic shift reaction. THF is preferred as the solvent in the former process and chloroform in the latter reaction. It was found for the first time that, owing to the ability of this series of diarylethenes to undergo skeletal photorearrangement with the release of the bromide cation, they can be used both as brominating agents and as Lewis acids for catalyzing electrophilic reactions.

Novel molecular hybrids of indoline spiropyrans and α-lipoic acid as potential photopharmacological agents: Synthesis, structure, photochromic and biological properties.

Organic photochromic compounds are attracting great interest as photoswitchable components of various bioconjugates for using in photopharmacology, targeted drug delivery and bio-imaging. Here we report on the synthesis of two novel molecular hybrids of indoline spiropyrans and alpha-lipoic acid via an esterification reaction. Preliminary photochemical studies revealed photochromic activity of 5-methoxy-substituted spirocompounds in their acetonitrile solutions. Both hybrid spiropyrans along with their parent substances in the hybrids were tested for the short-term cytotoxicity on HeLa cell cultures. The results of cytotoxicity studies showed unpredictable biocompatibility of the hybrids in comparison with the parent hydroxyl-substituted spiropyrans and α-lipoic acid, especially at the relatively high concentration of 2 mM. Using flow cytometry, we demonstrated that the both hybrids induced antioxidant response in the model cells. After the 24 h treatment, the hybrids administered at lower (500 µM) concentration caused suppressed cytosolic ROS and/or induced cellular thiols. At higher concentration, one of the hybrids demonstrated properties qualitatively similar to alpha-lipoic acid, yet far more strong. Together, flow cytometry results suggested that both hybrids of spiropyrans possess emergent biochemical and signaling antioxidant properties, exceeding those of alpha-lipoic acid.

Femto/Picosecond Transient Absorption Study of Ring-Opening Dynamics in Perimidinespirocyclohexadienone Derivatives.

The ring-opening dynamics of perimidinespirocyclohexadienone derivatives has been studied by means of time-resolved spectroscopy in cyclohexane and acetonitrile solutions. It has been established that molecular isomerisation leading to the open isomer occurs against the background of the S1 -S0 internal conversion of the cyclic form. In addition, the features of the observed spectral changes in the cyclohexane made it possible to distinguish formation of the photoproduct in the T1 state and its relaxation via intersystem crossing to the singlet ground state. The corresponding assignments for transient absorption bands were performed on the basis of TD-DFT calculations.

Visible to near-IR molecular switches based on photochromic indoline spiropyrans with a conjugated cationic fragment.

Photochromic molecules which can absorb and emit light within the "biological window" (650-1450 nm) are of great interest for using in various important biomedical applications such as bio-imaging, photopharmacology, targeted drug delivery, etc. Here we present three new indoline spiropyrans containing conjugated cationic fragments and halogen substituents in the 2H-chromene moiety which were synthesized by a simple one-pot method. The molecular structure of the obtained compounds was confirmed by FT-IR, 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy (including 2D methods), HRMS, elemental and single crystal X-ray analysis. Photochemical studies revealed the photochromic activity of spiropyrans at room temperature which caused photoswitchable fluorescence in the near-IR region after UV-irradiation. While the spirocyclic forms of compounds demonstrated absorption bands in the UV-Vis spectra with maxima in the visible region at about 445 nm and were not fluorescent, the photogenerated merocyanine isomers absorbed in the near-IR range at 708-738 nm and emitted at 768-791 nm. It was found that compound 1a with fluorine substituent possesses the most red-shifted absorption and emission bands of merocyanine form among all the known photochromic spiropyrans with maxima at 738 and 791 nm correspondingly. TD DFT calculations have shown that the longest wavelength absorption maxima of the merocyanine forms correspond to S0-S1 transitions of the isomers with at least one trans-trans-trans-configured vinylindolium fragment which brings them closer to cyanine-like structure and causes an appearance of the absorption and emission bands in the near-IR region.

Proton-induced fluorescence in modified quino[7,8-h]quinolines: dual sensing for protons and π-donors.

The synthesis, as well as spectral, structural and photoluminescence properties of dipyrido[3,2-e:2',3'-h]acenaphthene 5 and quinazolino[7,8-h]quinazolines 6 as representatives of the bidentate -N[double bond, length as m-dash]/-N[double bond, length as m-dash] superbases, are reported. These nitrogen bases being more rigid (5) or π-extended (6) analogs of optically-mute quino[7,8-h]quinoline are both active in terms of fluorescence with quantum yields up to φ = 0.71-0.77. At the same time, their luminescence behavior is opposite to that of peri-NMe2/NMe2 naphthalene proton sponges and their hybrid NMe2/-N[double bond, length as m-dash] analogs. Although 5 and 6 exhibit visible region emission upon protonation, for the hybrid systems the fluorescence is manifested only for bases. The most remarkable observation is that the fluorescence of compound 5 can be switched on not only by means of organic or inorganic acids, but also through the formation of chelate complexes with such weak H-donors as water and primary alcohols. It was disclosed that water is present in the complex as a cluster comprising 8 interconnected H2O molecules. Overall, the studied compounds demonstrate a previously unobserved type of dual mode optical response, H-sensing (emission enhancement in 5 and 6 on protonation) and π-sensing (emission quenching in 5H+ and 6H+ on coordination with π-donors). This work seems to be an important contribution to areas such as chemosensorics, the creation of new ligands, hydrogen transfer and some other phenomena representing different types of supramolecular interactions.

Photochemical Rearrangement of Diarylethenes: Reaction Efficiency and Substituent Effects.

In recent years, great synthetic potential of the photorearrangement of diarylethenes leading to naphthalene derivatives via a cascade process of photocyclization/[1,n]-H shift/cycloreversion has been demonstrated. In this work, first a multifaceted study of the influence of various factors on the efficiency of the photorearrangement of diarylethenes of furanone series containing benzene and oxazole derivatives as aryl residues has been carried out. The efficiency of this phototransformation (quantum yields) and the effect of methoxy substituents in the phenyl moiety have been studied. Despite the multistage process, the quantum yields of the photorearrangement are rather high (0.34-0.49). It has been found that the efficiency of photocyclization of diarylethenes increases with the introduction of electron-donating methoxy groups in the phenyl moiety. Using the DFT calculations, we have been able to estimate in the photoinduced isomer the distance between hydrogen atom and carbon atom to which it migrates in the result of the sigmatropic shift. For all studied diarylethenes, this value was 2.67-2.73 Å, which is less than the sum of van der Waals radii of carbon and hydrogen atoms (2.9 Å).

Structural and Spectral Properties of Photochromic Diarylethenes: Size Effect of the Ethene Bridge.

The effect of the size of the ethene bridge on the structural and spectral properties of photochromic diarylethenes, which remains a poorly understood phenomenon, was studied as applied to diarylethenes containing unsymmetrical (cyclohexenone and cyclopentenone) and symmetrical (cyclohexene and cyclopentene) ethene bridges. Thiophene, oxazole, and imidazole derivatives were used as aryl moieties. An increase in the size of the ethene bridge in the cycloalkenone series was found to be accompanied by a hypsochromic shift of the absorption maximum of the photoinduced form, whereas no difference was found for cycloalkenes. A detailed analysis of the NMR spectra (including 2D experiments) revealed previously unknown effects associated with the existence of an intramolecular hydrogen bond (CH···N) between the six-membered ethene bridge and the azole substituents. The NMR experimental data obtained were confirmed by DFT quantum chemical calculations and X-ray analysis. It was found that an intramolecular hydrogen bond favors an increase of the quantum yield of the photocyclization reaction.

10-Dimethylamino Derivatives of Benzo[h]quinoline and Benzo[h]quinazolines: Fluorescent Proton Sponge Analogues with Opposed peri-NMe2/-N═ Groups. How to Distinguish between Proton Sponges and Pseudo-Proton Sponges.

For the first time, 10-dimethylamino derivatives of benzo[h]quinoline 6 and benzo[h]quinazoline 7a-e as mixed analogues of archetypal 1,8-bis(dimethylamino)naphthalene ("proton sponge") 1 and quino[7,8-h]quinoline 2a have been examined. Similar to 1 and 2, compounds 6 and 7 display rather high basicity, forming chelated monocations. At the same time, unexpected specifics of the protonated NMe2/-N═ systems consist of a strong shift of the NH proton to the 10-NMe2 group, contrary to the "aniline-pyridine" basicity rule. In case of 4H(+), a rapid migration (in the NMR time scale) of the NH proton between two nitrogen atoms along the N-H···N hydrogen bond was registered at room temperature and frozen below -30 °C with the proton fixed on the NMe2 group. Two different approaches for classification of strong neutral nitrogen organic bases as proton sponges (kinetically inert compounds) or pseudo-proton sponges (kinetically active) are discussed. On this basis, benzoquinoline 6 was identified as staying closer to pseudo-proton sponges while 7a-e to proton sponges due to the presence in their molecules of bulky substituents in the pyrimidine ring. Other remarkable peculiarities of 6 and 7 are their yellow color and luminescence in the visible region distinguishing them from colorless 1 and 2a.

2-Hetaryl-1,3-tropolones based on five-membered nitrogen heterocycles: synthesis, structure and properties.

A series of derivatives of 2-hetaryl-1,3-tropolone (ß-tropolone) was prepared by the acid-catalyzed reaction of 2-methylbenzoxazoles, 2-methylbenzothiazoles and 2,3,3-trimethylindoline with 3,4,5,6-tetrachloro-1,2-benzoquinone. The molecular structures of the three representative compounds were determined by X-ray crystallography. In crystal and (as shown by the DFT PBE0/6-311+G** calculations) in solution, 2-hetaryl-4,5,6,7-tetrachloro- and 2-hetaryl-5,6,7-trichloro-1,3-tropolones exist in the NH-tautomeric form with a strong resonance-assisted intramolecular N-H···O hydrogen bond. The mechanism of the formation of 1,3-tropolones in the reaction of methylene-active five-membered heterocycles with o-chloranil in acetic acid solution has been studied using density functional theory (DFT) methods. The reaction of 2-(2-benzoxa(thia)zolyl)-5,6,7-trichloro(4,5,6,7-tetrachloro)-1,3-tropolones with alcohols leads to the contraction of the seven-membered tropone ring with the formation of 2-(2-benzoxa(thia)zolyl)-6-alkoxycarbonylphenols. The molecular structure of 2-(2-ethoxycarbonyl-6-hydroxy-3,4,5-trichlorophenyl)benzoxazole has been determined by X-ray diffraction. 2-(2-Benzoxa(thia)zolyl)-6-alkoxycarbonylphenols display intense green fluorescence with anomalous Stokes shifts caused by the excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) effects.

Synthesis, Photophysical and Redox Properties of the D-π-A Type Pyrimidine Dyes Bearing the 9-Phenyl-9H-Carbazole Moiety.

Novel donor-π-acceptor dyes bearing the pyrimidine unit as an electron-withdrawing group have been synthesized by using combination of two processes, based on the microwave-assisted Suzuki cross-coupling reaction and nucleophilic aromatic substitution of hydrogen. Spectral properties of the obtained dyes in six aprotic solvents of various polarities have been studied by ultraviolet-visible and fluorescence spectroscopy. In contrast to the absorption spectra, fluorescence emission spectra displayed a strong dependence from their solvent polarities. The nature of the observed long wavelength maxima has been elucidated by means of quantum chemical calculations. The electrochemical properties of these dyes have been investigated by using cyclic voltammetry, while their photovoltaic performance was evaluated by a device fabrication study. The experimental and calculation data show that all of the dyes can be regarded as potentially good photosensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells.

Quantitative investigations of cation complexation of photochromic 8-benzothiazole-substituted benzopyran: towards metal-ion sensors.

The photochromic, thermochromic and metallochromic behaviour of a series of three spiro[indoline-8-(benzothiazol-2-yl)-benzopyrans] has been investigated. The thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of their thermal equilibrium between the ring-closed (spiro) and ring-opened (merocyanine) isomeric forms have been determined using UV-Vis absorption and (1)H NMR spectroscopies. By adding Co(ii) and Ni(ii) ions in acetonitrile solution, 1 : 1 and 1 : 2 metal : merocyanine complexes are formed simultaneously. Using appropriate numerical methods, the kinetic analysis of the complexation allowed us to determine accurately key thermodynamic and spectroscopic parameters of the metal complexes. Results showed that the complexation strength is very sensitive to the size of the indoline nitrogen substituent. Complexation can be reversed by shining white light on the coloured complexes which regenerates the inactive spiropyran form, and releases the metallic ion; hence, these systems display fully reversible negative photochromism. The Zn(ii) complexes exhibit intense fluorescence in the 600-800 nm wavelength range. All these behaviours make these spiropyrans bearing benzothiazole heterocycles promising building blocks for the future construction of photodynamic chemosensors for transition metal ions.

Spectroscopic and theoretical evidence for the elusive intermediate of the photoinitiated and thermal rearrangements of photochromic spiropyrans.

Spectral properties and photochromic behavior of a series of novel 1',3',3'-trimethyl-1,2-tetramethylenespiro[7H-furo(3,2-f)-(2H-1)-benzopyran-7,2'-indolines] 1-4 have been studied. The mechanism of the photoinitiated ring-opening reaction involves the formation of an acoplanar cis-cisoid intermediate, the lifetime of which in the case of 6-(tert-butyl) derivative 4 is long enough to observe its absorption and fluorescence spectra under conditions of continuous irradiation. The occurrence of the intermediate on the reaction paths of the thermal and photochemical ring-opening processes has been also shown by the DFT and CIS calculations. The TD-B3LYP/6-31G//HF/6-31G calculated spectrum of the intermediate well matches that observed experimentally. For spiropyran 3 with a 6-NO(2) group, kinetic and activation parameters of the photoinitiated coloration and dark bleaching reactions have been determined.