近红外聚乙烯醇荧光高分子材料的制备及性能

以一种方酸菁染料、水溶性石墨烯和聚乙烯醇为原料,设计合成了在近红外区具有强荧光(660~665 nm)特性及良好的光热稳定性的方酸菁/聚乙烯醇二元和方酸菁/石墨烯/聚乙烯醇三元高分子材料;与在水中相比,方酸菁染料在聚乙烯醇中的最大紫外-可见吸收和荧光波长红移,荧光强度和光稳定性大幅提高;石墨烯的存在增强了材料的光稳定性。     

Squaraine [2]catenanes: synthesis, structure and molecular dynamics

Three squaraine [2]catenanes are synthesized and found to have bright, deep-red fluorescence and high chemical stability. The interlocked molecules undergo two large-amplitude dynamic processes, twisting of the squaraine macrocycle and skipping over the partner tetralactam.     

Squaraine Dyes as Fluorescent Turn-on Probes for Mucins: A Step Toward Selectivity†

Mucins are a family of long polymeric glycoproteins which can be overexpressed in several types of cancers, and over recent years, great attention was addressed to identify mucins as an important biomarker of adverse prognosis. Fluorometric detection mediated by fluorescent probes could represent a winning strategy in the early diagnosis of different pathologies. Among promising biological fluorescent probes, squaraines are gaining particular attention, thanks to their sharp and intense absorption and emission in the NIR region. In this contribution, three squaraine dyes bearing different substituents and with different lipophilicity have been investigated for their ability to detect mucin. The turn-on response upon the addition of mucin has been investigated by means of absorbance and fluorescence spectroscopy. After a preliminary screening, the squaraine (S6) bearing bromine as a substituent and C4 aliphatic chains showed the highest fluorescence turn-on and highest affinity for mucin than albumin. To further highlight the selectivity of S6 for mucin, the fluorescence response has been evaluated in the presence of serum and site-specific proteins different than albumin. Absorption spectroscopy was used to characterize the binding mechanism of squaraine to mucin.     

A graphene binding-promoted fluorescence enhancement for bovine serum albumin recognition

Chemically converted graphene (CCG) was found to greatly enhance the fluorescence response of squaraine (SQ) dyes to bovine serum albumin (BSA). Addition of BSA to the SQ-CCG solution, where squaraine dyes absorbed on the CCG surface, raised the fluorescence intensity by as much as 80 fold.     

Squaraine Dyes: Interaction with Bovine Serum Albumin to Investigate Supramolecular Adducts with Aggregation‐Induced Emission (AIE) Properties

Bovine serum albumin (BSA)–squaraine supramolecular adducts with aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) properties were prepared and characterized by spectroscopic methods. While squaraine dyes showed a very low fluorescence quantum yield in water, a great enhancement in the fluorescence of the aggregated BSA adducts was achieved due to the abnormal aggregation‐induced emission properties of squaraines. The adducts formation was studied from a kinetic point of view showing unexpected structure–properties relationships.     

Squaraine Rotaxane as a Reversible Optical Chloride Sensor

A mechanically interlocked squaraine rotaxane is comprised of a deep‐red fluorescent squaraine dye inside a tetralactam macrocycle. NMR studies show that Cl^? binding to the rotaxane induces macrocycle translocation away from the central squaraine station, a process that is completely reversed when the Cl^? is removed from the solution. Steady‐state fluorescence and excited‐state lifetime measurements show that this reversible machine‐like motion modulates several technically useful optical properties, including a three‐fold increase in deep‐red fluorescence emission that is observable to the naked eye. The excited states were characterized quantitatively by time‐correlated single photon counting, femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy, and nanosecond laser flash photolysis. Cl^? binding to the rotaxane increases the squaraine excited singlet state lifetime from 1.5 to 3.1 ns, and decreases the excited triplet state lifetime from >200 to 44 μs. Apparently, the surrounding macrocycle quenches the excited singlet state of the encapsulated squaraine dye and stabilizes the excited triplet state. Prototype dipsticks were prepared by adsorbing the lipophilic rotaxane onto the ends of narrow, C18‐coated, reverse‐phase silica gel plates. The fluorescence intensity of a dipstick increased eighteen‐fold upon dipping in an aqueous solution of tetrabutylammonium chloride (300 mM ) and was subsequently reversed by washing with pure water. It is possible to develop the dipsticks for colorimetric determination of Cl^? levels by the naked eye. After dipping into aqueous tetrabutylammonium chloride, a dipstick’s color slowly fades at a rate that depends on the amount of Cl^? in the aqueous solution. The fading process is due primarily to hydrolytic bleaching of the squaraine chromophore within the rotaxane. That is, association of Cl^? to immobilized rotaxane induces macrocycle translocation and exposure of the electrophilic C₄O₂ core of the squaraine station, which is in turn attacked by the ambient moisture to produce a bleached product.     

方酸菁荧光探针的应用研究进展

功能性方酸菁染料具有独特的D-A-D共轭结构,其在可见光和近红外区域有强烈的吸收和荧光发射。方酸菁染料作为近红外荧光探针母体被应用于蛋白质、氨基酸、一些生物小分子、环境污染物及金属离子等的检测。本文结合课题组近几年工作综述了方酸菁染料在蛋白质、氨基酸、生物小分子、阳离子和其它物质检测方面的应用。     

Water-soluble NIR fluorescent probes based on squaraine and their application for protein labeling.

Water-soluble near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent labeling probes, named KSQ-3 and -4, which are based on a squaraine backbone, were synthesized and applied to biological labeling. The presented results demonstrate that the large, planar and hydrophobic squaraine dye becomes fully soluble in aqueous solution by the introduction of several sulfo group terminated alkyl substituents. Especially KSQ-4, which is substituted with four sulfo groups, exhibited perfect water solubility and significant fluorescence emission at the NIR region (817 nm) in the presence of bovine serum albumin (BSA). BSA was covalently labeled with KSQ-4, and the conjugate showed a strong absorption peak at 787 nm, which indicates compatibility with commercially available NIR laser diodes used for exciting the fluorophore. Furthermore, strong fluorescence emission was observed at 812 nm (phi = 0.08).     

Synthesis and Characterization of Near‐Infrared Absorbing Water Soluble Squaraines and Study of their Photodynamic Effects in DLA Live Cells

Here, we report the synthesis, photophysical properties and photodynamic effects in DLA live cells of three water soluble squaraine dyes, viz. bisbenzothiazolium squaraine dyes SQMI and SQDI with iodine in one and both benzothiazolium units, respectively, and an unsymmetrical squaraine dye ASQI containing iodinated benzothiazolium and aniline substituents. The diiodinated SQDI showed an anomalous trend in both fluorescence and triplet quantum yields over the monoiodinated SQMI, with SQDI showing higher fluorescence and lower triplet quantum yields compared to SQMI. Nanosecond laser flash photolysis of SQDI and SQMI indicated the formation of triplet excited states with quantum yield of 0.19 and 0.26, respectively. On photoirradiation, both the SQDI and SQMI generate singlet oxygen and it was observed that both dyes undergoing oxidation reactions with the singlet oxygen generated. ASQI which exhibited a lower triplet quantum yield of 0.06 was, however, stable and did not react with the singlet oxygen generated. In vitro cytotoxicity studies of these dyes in DLA live cells were performed using Trypan blue dye exclusion method and it reflect an order of cytotoxicity of SQDI>SQMI>ASQI. Intracellular generation of the ROS was confirmed by dichlorofluorescein assay after the in vitro PDT.     

Halogenated Squaraine Dyes as Potential Photochemotherapeutic Agents. Synthesis and Study of Photophysical Properties and Quantum Efficiencies of Singlet Oxygen Generation*

Abstract— We describe the synthesis and photophysical studies, including measurements of quantum yields of triplet excited states and singlet oxygen generation of bis(3,5-dibromo-2,4,6-trihydroxyphenyl)squaraine (2) and bis(3,5-diiodo-2,4,6-trihydroxyphenyl)squaraine (3). These dyes exist in solution in the protonated, neutral, single and double depro-tonated forms, depending on pH. The pK_a values of these dyes were found to be relatively lower than those of the parent bis(2,4,6-trihydroxyphenyl)squaraine (1). Only the single deprotonated forms (Sq) of 2 and 3 showed measurable fluorescence. In microheterogeneous media such as in the presence of β-cyclodextrin, cetyltrunethylammonium bromide and polyvinylpyrrolidone), bathochromic shifts in the absorption and emission spectra of Sq were observed with a substantial enhancement in their fluorescence yields. Triplet excited states are the main transient intermediates obtained upon 532 nm laser excitation of the various forms of 2 and 3 in methanol. These triplets have lifetimes in the range from 0.061 to 132 μs. The triplet quantum yields of double deprotonated forms are low (φT = <0.01), whereas the neutral and Sq^?forms of 2 (φr = 0.12 and 0.22) and 3 (φ_T= 0.24 and 0.5), respectively, exhibited significant triplet yields. Quantum yields of singlet oxygen generation by Sq^?forms of 2 and 3 were determined in methanol and were found to be 0.13 and 0.47, respectively, which are in good agreement with the triplet yields obtained in these systems.     

Fluorescence-resolved hole burning of squaraine dyes in polymer matrices at low temperature

A new technique that combines nonphotochemical hole burning with multichannel detected fluorescence line narrowing has been used to obtain vibrationally resolved fluorescence spectra of squaraine chromophores in polymer matrices at 1.4 K. At a fixed excitation frequency, the intensities of the zero-phonon lines decay with time due to nonphotochemical hole burning, leaving behind a broader background attributed to emission from molecules excited into phonon sidebands. Subtracting the spectrum of the hole-burned sample from the initial one leaves predominantly a zero-phonon line excited spectrum exhibiting enhanced vibrational structure. Spectra of the same squaraine in polystyrene and polyethylene matrices show differences in the frequencies and intensities of the phonon sidebands, indicating differences in the frequencies and strengths of the matrix modes coupled to the electronic transition of the chromophore. The phonon densities of states inferred through different measurement techniques are compared and related to electronic dephasing rates.     

Deoxyribonucleoside‐Modified Squaraines as Near‐IR Viscosity Sensors

Deoxyribonucleoside‐modified squaraines were synthesized by Sonogashira coupling reactions using an unsymmetrical, terminal alkynylated benzothiazolium squaraine dye. These non‐natural nucleosides exhibited fluorescent ‘turn‐on’ properties in viscous conditions with an enhancement of >300‐fold. The viscosity‐dependent fluorescence enhancement was attributed to a combination of hampering both molecular aggregation and intramolecular bond rotation of the squaraine probe. Fluorescence microscopy allowed visualization of highly viscous regions during various stages of cellular mitosis.     

An Unsymmetrical Squaraine-Based Activatable Probe for Imaging Lymphatic Metastasis by Responding to Tumor Hypoxia with MSOT and Aggregation-Enhanced Fluorescent Imaging

Optoacoustic imaging has great potential for preclinical research and clinical practice, and designing robust activatable optoacoustic probes for specific diseases is beneficial for its further development. Herein, an activatable probe has been developed for tumor hypoxia imaging. For this probe, indole and quinoline were linked on each side of an oxocyclobutenolate core to form an unsymmetrical squaraine. A triarylamine group was incorporated to endow the molecule with the aggregation enhanced emission (AEE) properties. In aqueous media, the squaraine chromophore aggregates into the nanoprobe, which specifically responds to nitroreductase and produces strong optoacoustic signals due to its high extinction coefficient, as well as prominent fluorescence emission as a result of its AEE feature. The nanoprobe was used to image tumor metastasis via the lymphatic system both optoacoustically and fluorescently. Moreover, both the fluorescence signals and three-dimensional multispectral optoacoustic tomography signals from the activated nanoprobe allow us to locate the tumor site and to map the metastatic route.     

Squaraine dyes as efficient coupling bridges between triarylamine redox centres

Various indolenine squarylium dyes with additional electron-donating amine redox centres have been synthesised and their redox chemistry has been studied. A combination of cyclic voltammetry, spectro-electrochemistry and DFT calculations has been used to characterise the electronic structure of the mono-, di- and, in one case, trications. All monocations still retain the cyanine-like, delocalised character due to the relatively low redox potential of the squaraine bridge and are therefore compounds of Robin-Day class III. Thus we extended previous studies on organic mixed-valence systems by using the indolenine squaraine moiety as very electron-rich bridge between two electron-donating amine redox centres to provoke a strong coupling between the additional redox centres. We synthesised TA3, which has an N-N distance of 26 bonds between the triarylamine redox centres and is to our knowledge the longest bis(triarylamine) radical cation that is completely delocalised. We furthermore show that altering the symmetry of a squaraine dye by substitution of a squaric ring oxygen atom by a dicyanomethylene group has a direct impact on the optical properties of the monocations. In case of the dications, it turned out that the energetically most stable state of dianisylamine-substituted squaraines is an anti-ferromagnetically coupled open-shell singlet state.     

Near-infrared fluorescent probes: synthesis and spectroscopic investigations of a few amphiphilic squaraine dyes

With the objective of developing near-infrared fluorescence probes for biological applications, a few squaraine dyes 3a-d, containing amphiphilic substituents, were synthesized and their photophysical properties have been investigated in the presence and absence of the organized media. These dyes exhibited absorption in the range 630-650 nm, with significant absorption coefficients (epsilon = 1-3 x 10(5) M(-1) cm(-1)) in the aqueous medium. The fluorescence spectra of these dyes showed emission maximum from 660 to 675 nm, depending on the nature of substituents. The fluorescence quantum yields were in the range from 0.15 to 0.21 in ethanol, but 10 times lower values were observed (phi(f) = 0.01-0.02) in the aqueous medium. In the presence of micelles such as cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, sodium dodecyl sulfate, and Triton X-100, these dyes showed negligible changes in their absorption properties, whereas a significant enhancement (5-10-folds) in their fluorescence yields was observed. Picosecond time-resolved studies indicated that these dyes show single-exponential decay in ethanol and ethanol-water mixtures; however, they exhibit biexponential decay with longer lifetimes in the presence of the micellar media. The results indicate that these novel amphiphilic squaraine dyes 3a-d, which exhibit favorable photophysical properties, good solubility in the aqueous medium, and interact efficiently with micelles, can have potential biological applications as near-infrared fluorescence sensors.     

Fiber optic sodium and potassium sensing by using a newly synthesized squaraine dye in PVC matrix

In recent years squarines received attention as fluorescent labels. Their very promising spectral properties such as long wavelength absorption and emission, high extinction coefficients and quantum yields could lead novel sensing technologies. In this work newly synthesized fluoroinophores named bis[4-N-(1-aza-4,7,10,13-tetraoxacyclopentadecyl)-3,5-dihydroxyphenyl]squaraine, azacrown-1 and 2 bis[4-N-(1-aza-4,7,10,13,16-pentaoxacyclooctadecyl)-3,5-dihydroxyphenyl]squaraine, azacrown-2 have been used for sodium and potassium sensing in plasticized PVC matrix. The squaraine derivatives exhibited fluorescence emission based optical responses to sodium and potassium with a detection limit of 1.10(-9) M. The sensor compositions exhibited wide response ranges between 10(-9) and 10(-5) M Na(+)or K(+), and, therefore, may be an alternative method to flame emission spectroscopy. The sensor is fully reversible within the dynamic range and the response time is 3 min under batch conditions. Cross sensitivity to pH is negligible in the pH range of 6.2-7.3. Throughout fiber optic based studies a relative signal change of 54-56% has been achieved. The azacrown dyes have the advantage that they can be excited with long wavelength light and, are, therefore, LED compatible. The cross sensitivity of azacrown-1 and -2 to Ba(2+), Ca(2+) and NH(4)(+)were also tested in separate solutions.     

Panchromatic Fluorescence Emission from Thienosquaraines Dyes: White Light Electrofluorochromic Devices

Electrofluorochromic devices (EFCDs) that allow the modulation of the light emitted by electroactive fluorophores are very attractive in the research field of optoelectronics. Here, the electrofluorochromic behaviour of a series of squaraine dyes was studied for the first time. In solutions, all compounds are photoluminescent with maxima located in the range 665–690 nm, characterized by quantum yields ranging from 30% to 4.1%. Squaraines were incorporated in a polymer gel used as an active layer in all-in-one gel switchable EFCDs. An aggregation induced quenching occurs in the gel phase, causing a significant decrease in the emission quantum yield in the device. However, the squaraines containing the thieno groups (thienosquaraines, TSQs) show a panchromatic emission and their electrofluorochromism allows the tuning of the fluorescence intensity from 500 nm to the near infrared. Indeed, the application of a potential difference to the device induces a reversible quenching of their emission that is significantly higher and occurs at shorter switching times for TSQs-based devices compared to the reference squaraine dye (DIBSQ). Interestingly, the TSQs fluorescence spectral profile becomes more structured under voltage, and this could be explained by the shift of the aggregates/monomer equilibrium toward the monomeric species, due to electrochemical oxidation, which causes the disassembling of aggregates. This effect may be used to modulate the colour of the fluorescence light emitted by a device and paves the way for conceiving new electrofluorochromic materials based on this mechanism.     

几种方酸菁染料的NMR及光谱特性研究

研究了几种方酸菁染料的核磁、可见、荧光光谱。通过二维核磁共振谱和¹³CNMR确定了分子的结构和构型。测定了其在不同溶剂中吸收光谱和荧光发射光谱及其发射的荧光量子产率。发现它具有微弱的正向溶致变色特性,通过光谱特征分析得出整个分子处于平面结构并形成一个长的共轭体系,其激发态和基态的结构相近的结论。同时,讨论了结构对分子电荷分布及相应荧光光谱特征的影响。     

Synthesis and Electronic Properties of 1,2‐Hemisquarimines and Their Encapsulation in a Cucurbit[7]uril Host

The synthesis of a new class of robust squaraine dyes, colloquially named 1,2‐hemisquarimines (1,2‐HSQiMs), through the microwave‐assisted condensation of aniline derivatives with the 1,2‐squaraine core is reported. In CH₃CN, 1,2‐HSQiMs show a broad absorption band with a high extinction coefficient and a maximum at around λ=530 nm, as well as an emission band centered at about λ=574 nm, that are pH dependent. Protonation of the imine nitrogen causes a redshift of both absorption and emission maxima, with a concomitant increase in the lifetime of the emitting excited state. Encapsulation of the chromophore into a cucurbit[7]uril host revealed fluorescence enhancement and increased photostability in water. The redox characteristics of 1,2‐HSQiMs indicate that charge injection into TiO₂ is possible; this opens up promising perspectives for their use as photosensitizers for solar energy conversion.     

Facile access to extremely efficient energy-transfer pairs via an unexpected reaction of squaraines with ketones

We have discovered that squaraine NCSQ easily react with ketones in the presence of ammonium acetate to form a novel type of squaraine CCSQ. It is interesting to find that NCSQs exhibit unusual solid-state fluorescence, whereas CCSQs only exhibit fluorescence in solution. The quantum yield of solid NCSQ-g is measured to be 0.36, which is the highest among solid squaraines found so far. The large spectral overlap between the emission of NCSQs and the absorption of CCSQs, and the structural similarity of these molecules make them excellent energy-transfer (ET) pairs, as exemplified by the ET pair of CCSQ-1/NCSQ-g. When a very small amount (0.05 mol%) of CCSQ-g is doped into NCSQ-g, the ET efficiency reaches up to 96%. The Stern-Volmer quenching constant K(SV) is calculated to be 65?800, indicating that CCSQ-1/NCSQ-g forms an extremely efficient ET pair. This study provides a novel skeleton and a facile route to efficient ET pairs.