Unsymmetrical Benzothieno-Fused BODIPYs as Efficient NIR Heavy-Atom-Free Photosensitizers.

Heavy-atom-free photosensitizers are potentially suitable for use in photodynamic therapy (PDT). In this contribution, a new family of unsymmetrical benzothieno-fused BODIPYs with reactive oxygen efficiency up to 50% in air-saturated toluene was reported. Their efficient intersystem crossing (ISC) resulted in the generation of both 1O2 and O2-• under irradiation. More importantly, the PDT efficacy of a respective 4-methoxystyryl-modified benzothieno-fused BODIPY in living cells exhibited an extremely high phototoxicity with an ultralow IC50 value of 2.78 nM. The results revealed that the incorporation of an electron-donating group at the α-position of the unsymmetrical benzothieno-fused BODIPY platform might be an effective approach for developing long-wavelength absorbing heavy-atom-free photosensitizers for precision cancer therapy.

Solid-State Emissive meso-Aryl/Alkyl-Substituted and Heteroatom-Mixed BOPPY Dyes: Syntheses, Structures, Physicochemical, Redox Properties, and Computational Analysis.

A series of solid-state emissive meso-aryl/alkyl-substituted and heteroatom-mixed bisBF2-anchoring fluorophore incorporating pyrrolyl-pyridylhydrazone (BOPPY) dyes have been developed by a one-pot condensation of ketonized or formylated pyrroles and 2-heterocyclohydrazine as well as the subsequent borylation coordination. Interestingly, the BOPPY dyes with meso-alkyl-substituted groups or oxygen-substituted pyridine moieties exhibit high fluorescence quantum yields (QYs) of up to 79%, the highest solid QY of 74%, and long lifetimes independent of polarity in the available BOPPYs. On the other hand, the BOPPYs with meso-aryl or N-substituted moieties display a high solution QY of up to 93% and slight emission wavelength maxima. However, the S-substituted BOPPY dye exhibited weak fluorescence in all studied solvents, which was attributed to the structural flexibility of the N-C-S bond and different from those BOPPYs with O or N substitution, indicated by quantum calculations. And the significant excited-state structural rearrangement in a polar solvent is further confirmed by femtosecond time-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy. More importantly, those novel and barely fluorescent BOPPYs in acetonitrile show advantageous aggregation-induced enhanced emission and viscosity-dependent activities. These advancements in the photophysical and electrochemical properties of BOPPY dyes offer valuable insights into their further development and potential applications.

Synthesis, Properties, and Semiconducting Characteristics of Bisbenzothieno[b]-Fused BODIPYs.

A novel family of bisbenzothieno[b]-fused BODIPYs containing seven fused aromatic rings has been developed from readily available benzothieo[3,2-b]pyrroles through an efficient two-step synthetic route, exhibiting planar skeletons with excellent photostabilities, deep-red absorptions, and near-infrared emissions (up to 753 nm). Importantly, the thin-film transistors based on BTB with a meso-dimethylamino-phenyl group exhibit unipolar n-type charge transporting characteristics with a high electron mobility of 0.013 cm2 V-1 s-1.

Aromatic-Ring-Fused BOPPY Fluorophores: Synthesis, Spectral, Redox Properties, and Bioimaging Application.

Tetracoordinated organoboron dyes exhibiting strong fluorescence in either solution or the solid state are currently receiving much attraction in view of their photovoltaic, optoelectronic, and biological applications. Herein, a series of aromatic-ring-fused BOPPY dyes have been developed by one-pot condensation of formylated isoindoles or indoles and pyridinylhydrazine followed by subsequent borylation coordination. The facile synthesis provides excellent diversity of these unsymmetrical α-benzo- and ß-benzothiophene-fused BOPPY dyes with intriguing photophysical properties owing to their rigid and planar structure and extended π-conjugation while containing a reactive site. They display intense green to orange fluorescence in solution and red-to-near-infrared emission in the solid state, with high fluorescence quantum yields up to 92 and 21%, respectively, relatively large Stokes shifts, and excellent photostability. Furthermore, two representative benzo-fused BOPPY probes with morpholine or benzenesulfonamide groups were developed and used to selectively "light up" the subcellular organelles such as lysosomes and endoplasmic reticulum under ultralow concentration, respectively.

Dynamically stable co-assembled supramolecular BOPPY systems with chiral amplification.

New and dynamical chiral co-assembled systems bearing BOPPY were successfully developed with amplified CPL signals. Remarkably, these stable chiral co-assemblies prepared at high concentrations retain uniform microrods and exceptional chiroptical performance (glum = 0.028, ΦF = 14%) after 48 h.

Toxicity of carbon nanomaterials to plants, animals and microbes: Recent progress from 2015-present.

Nanotechnology has gained significant development over the past decades, which led to the revolution in the fields of information, medicine, industry, food security and aerospace aviation. Nanotechnology has become a new research hot spot in the world. However, we cannot only pay attention to its benefit to the society and economy, because its wide use has been bringing potential environmental and health effects that should be noticed. This paper reviews the recent progress from 2015-present in the toxicity of various carbon nanomaterials to plants, animals and microbes, and lays the foundation for further study on the environmental and ecological risks of carbon nanomaterials.