Synthesis of BODIPY Derivatives Substituted with Various Bioconjugatable Linker Groups: A Construction Kit for Fluorescent Labeling of Receptor Ligands

The goal of the present study was to design small, functionalized green-emitting BODIPY dyes, which can readily be coupled to target molecules such as receptor ligands, or even be integrated into their pharmacophores. A simple two-step one-pot procedure starting from 2,4-dimethylpyrrole and ω-bromoalkylcarboxylic acid chlorides was used to obtain new ω-bromoalkyl-substituted BODIPY fluorophores (1a–1f) connected via alkyl spacers of different length to the 8-position of the fluorescent dye. The addition of radical inhibitors reduced the amount of side products. The ω-bromoalkyl-substituted BODIPYs were further converted to introduce various functional groups: iodo-substituted dyes were obtained by Finkelstein reaction in excellent yields; microwave-assisted reaction with methanolic ammonia led to fast and clean conversion to the amino-substituted dyes; a hydroxyl-substituted derivative was prepared by reaction with sodium ethylate, and thiol-substituted BODIPYs were obtained by reaction of 1a–1f with potassium thioacetate followed by alkaline cleavage of the thioesters. Water-soluble derivatives were prepared by introducing sulfonate groups into the 2- and 6-position of the BODIPY core. The synthesized BODIPY derivatives showed high fluorescent yields and appeared to be stable under basic, reducing and oxidative conditions. As a proof of concept, 2-thioadenosine was alkylated with bromoethyl-BODIPY 1b. The resulting fluorescent 2-substituted adenosine derivative 15 displayed selectivity for the A₃ adenosine receptor (ARs) over the other AR subtypes, showed agonistic activity, and may thus become a useful tool for studying A₃ARs, or a lead structure for further optimization. The new functionalized dyes may be widely used for fluorescent labeling allowing the investigation of biological targets and processes.