Intramolecular charge transfer in pyrromethene laser dyes: photophysical behaviour of PM650.

Absorption and fluorescence (steady-state and time-correlated) techniques are used to study the photophysical characteristics of the pyrromethene 650 (PM650) dye. The presence of the cyano group at the 8 position considerably shifts the absorption and fluorescence bands to lower energies with respect to other related pyrromethene dyes; this is attributed to the strong electron-acceptor character of the cyano group, as is theoretically confirmed by quantum mechanical methods. The fluorescence properties of PM650 are intensively solvent-dependent. The fluorescence band is shifted to lower energies in polar/protic solutions, and the evolution of the corresponding wavelength with the solvent is analysed by a multicomponent linear regression. The fluorescence quantum yield and the lifetime strongly decrease in polar/protic solvents, which can be ascribed to an extra nonradiative deactivation, via an intramolecular charge-transfer state (ICT state), favoured in polar media.     

Shedding light on the mitochondrial matrix through a functional membrane transporter

The first fluorescent probes that are actively channeled into the mitochondrial matrix by a specific mitochondrial membrane transporter in living cells have been developed. The new functional probes (BCT) have a minimalist structural design based on the highly efficient and photostable BODIPY chromophore and carnitine as a biotargeting element. Both units are orthogonally bonded through the common boron atom, thus avoiding the use of complex polyatomic connectors. In contrast to known mitochondria-specific dyes, BCTs selectively label these organelles regardless of their transmembrane potential and in an enantioselective way. The obtained experimental evidence supports carnitine–acylcarnitine translocase (CACT) as the key transporter protein for BCTs, which behave therefore as acylcarnitine biomimetics. This simple structural design can be readily extended to other structurally diverse starting F-BODIPYs to obtain BCTs with varied emission wavelengths along the visible and NIR spectral regions and with multifunctional capabilities. BCTs are the first fluorescent derivatives of carnitine to be used in cell microscopy and stand as promising research tools to explore the role of the carnitine shuttle system in cancer and metabolic diseases. Extension of this approach to other small-molecule mitochondrial transporters is envisaged.

A BODIPY derivative of carnitine enters mitochondria regardless of their membrane potential and in an enantioselective way through a specific mitochondrial membrane transporter in living cells.     

Difluoro-boron-triaza-anthracene: a laser dye in the blue region. Theoretical simulation of alternative difluoro-boron-diaza-aromatic systems

The synthesis, photophysical and laser properties of a difluoro-boron-triaza-anthracene (BTAA) compound are analyzed in the present paper. The molecular structure of this dye is an anthracene-like core with N atoms at 4a, 9 and 10a positions where two of them (4a and 10a) are linked through a BF(2)-bridge group. This structure is reminiscent of aza-BODIPY dye with an s-indacene core, BODIPY being one of the most commonly used laser dye family in the Vis region. The main absorption and emission bands of the new dye are localized in the blue part of the Vis region of the electromagnetic radiation, a spectral region practically unexploited by the BODIPY chromophore. Moreover, the new dye presents a higher laser efficiency and photostability than other commercial laser dyes operating in the same spectral region. In order to look for new molecular structures with potential laser emission covering the whole Vis spectral region, the spectroscopic properties of other different chromophoric systems based on BF(2)-linking aromatic groups are theoretically simulated by quantum mechanical calculations.     

Influence of the molecular structure and the nature of the solvent on the absorption and fluorescence characteristics of rhodamines

A study of the equilibrium of the molecular forms of rhodamine 19 in aqueous and ethanolic solution is carried out by determining the absorption and fluorescence characteristics of the zwitterionic and the cationic forms of the dye. The optical properties of rhodamine 19 are compared with those obtained for rhodamine 6G and also with those previously reported for rhodamine 3B and for the molecular forms of rhodamine B in water and ethanol. Different aspects of the molecular structure of the rhodamines and solvent effects are discussed, as well as their influence on the photophysical properties of the rhodamines. The aggregation of the molecular forms of rhodamine 19 is also studied in water and ethanol.     

Photophysical Characterization of New 3-Amino and 3-Acetamido BODIPY Dyes with Solvent Sensitive Properties

The structural, electronic and photophysical properties of three new asymmetric, highly fluorescent difluoroborondipyrromethene (BODIPY) dyes, bearing an amino or an acetamido group at position 3 of the chromophoric core, have been studied in different apolar, polar and polar/protic solvents. The presence of the 3-amido group extents the delocalization of the π-system, leading to bathochromic shifts in the absorption and fluorescence bands, as predicted by quantum mechanic calculations. The 3-amino dye shows photophysical properties highly dependent on the solvent polarity and acidity, and is characterized by a hypsochromic shift of its absorption band, with regard to the corresponding acetylated dye, as well as a low fluorescence quantum yield in acid media with proton concentration lower than 4 × 10⁻⁴ M. In media with higher proton concentration, the BF₂ bridge group of the 3-amino dye is removed, yielding the corresponding non-fluorescent dipyrromethene precursor. These results suggest that the 3-amino dye could be used as a fluorescence probe for the study of the acidity of different environments.     

Adsorption of fluorescent R6G dye into organophilic C12TMA laponite films

The absorption and fluorescence properties of rhodamine 6G (R6G) in organophilic laponite (Lap) clay films are studied. For this purpose, organo-Lap clays are synthesized by the incorporation of dodecyltrimethylammonium (C12TMA) as surfactant into the interlayer space of Lap clays. Two organo-Lap clays are prepared: one with moderate surfactant content (around 70% of the total cation-exchange capacity (CEC) of the clay) and a second with a high surfactant loading (about 130% CEC). Supported films are elaborated by the spin-coating technique and characterized by several techniques such as atomic force microscopy, elemental CHN analysis, X-ray diffraction, and thermogravimetry. IR spectroscopy reveals that the intercalation of R6G into organo-Lap films takes place at the detriment of the adsorbed C12TMA molecules. The photophysical properties of R6G monomers in the interlayer space of Lap films are improved by the presence of surfactant molecules. Moreover, organophilic environments can reduce the dye aggregation and favor the formation of fluorescent J-type aggregates, enhancing the fluorescence ability of dye/clay films with high dye contents. This improvement depends on the surfactant content.     

Photosensitizer-Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles Combination for Enhanced Photodynamic Therapy†

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) are widely known for their versatile applications. One of the most extended is as drug delivery systems for the treatment of cancer and other diseases. This review compiles the most representative examples in the last years of functionalized MSNs as photosensitizer carriers for photodynamic therapy (PDT) against cancer. Several commercially available photosensitizers (PSs) demonstrated poor solubility in an aqueous medium and insufficient selectivity for cancer tissues. The tumor specificity of PSs is a key factor for enhancing the PDT effect and at the same time reducing side effects. The use of nanoparticles and particularly MSNs, in which PS is covalently anchored or physically embedded, can overcome these limitations. For that, PS-MSNs can be externally decorated with compounds of interest in order to act as an active target for certain cancer cells, demonstrating enhanced phototoxicity in vitro and in vivo. The objective of this review is to collect and compare different nanosystems based on PS-MSNs pointing out their advantages in PDT against diverse types of cancers.     

Synthesis, photophysical properties, and laser behavior of 3-amino and 3-acetamido BODIPY dyes

The asymmetrically substituted BODIPY dyes 9a and 9b have been synthesized through a key redox step involving the alpha-nitroso derivative of the starting pyrrol. Both dyes emit fluorescence with quantum yields of ca. 0.7, but only 8b behaves as a good laser dye, with an efficiency of 48% in ethanol solution.     

Synthesis and functionalization of new polyhalogenated BODIPY dyes. Study of their photophysical properties and singlet oxygen generation

A theoretical and experimental study on the iodination of BODIPY dyes with different degrees of substitution has been developed. Polyhalogenated BODIPYs synthesized in this work are the first examples of this type of dyes with more than two halogen atoms in the BODIPY core and they can be selectively functionalized. Surprisingly, the position in which halogen is attached has a marked effect in the photophysical properties and modulates the fluorescence capacity of the resulting BODIPY. These iodinated BODIPYs are efficient singlet oxygen generators.     

Characterization of supported solid thin films of Laponite clay. Intercalation of rhodamine 6G laser dye

The morphology of thin films of Laponite (Lap) clay elaborated by the evaporation method and spin-coating technique was analyzed by atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, indicating a better quality film for the latter procedure. Rhodamine 6G (R6G) laser dye was intercalated into these films by ion exchange mechanism, performed by immersing the clay film into adequate dye solutions in which the effect of the dye concentration, immersion time, and nature of the solvent on the adsorption process were checked. The adsorption of R6G at the interlayer space of Lap was analyzed by the X-ray diffraction technique, and the presence of several R6G species (monomers and aggregates) was characterized by absorption and fluorescence spectroscopies. Less viscous solvents lead to higher dye loadings, suggesting a diffusional process for the intercalation of the dye in the interlayer spaces of Lap, and polar solvents favor the swellability of the interlayer space giving rise to a more homogeneous distribution of R6G molecules through the film and decreasing the dye aggregation. With the aging of the samples, the dye molecules can migrate through the interlayer spaces, leading to a more expanded distribution of R6G molecules and to the dye deaggregation.