Chemiluminogenic properties of 10-methyl-9-(phenoxycarbonyl)acridinium cations in organic environments

The chemiluminogenic (CL) properties of aryl esters of 9-carboxy-10-methylacridinium acid and 9-carboxy-2-methoxy-10-methylacridinium acid (AE), variously substituted in the benzene ring (2-H, 2-CH(3), 2-Cl) were investigated in aliphatic alcohols, acetonitrile, and dimethyl sulfoxide in the presence of hydrogen peroxide and different bases-potassium hydroxide, tetra-n-butylammonium hydroxide, and 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene. The dependence of their CL properties (decay rate constants (k(CL)) and relative efficiencies (RE)) on solvent parameters, the nature and concentration of base, as well as H(2)O(2) concentration were investigated. Comparison of the various AE revealed that substituents at the benzene ring strongly influence the reaction kinetics, while 2-OCH(3) substitution of the acridine nucleus is manifested, in general, by a red shift in the emission spectrum and slight increase in CL efficiency. The values of k(CL) depend linearly on polarity and acid-base properties of solvents as well as on concentration of bases (over certain concentration ranges) and demonstrate a nonlinear dependence on H(2)O(2) concentration. RE values depend on solvent polarity and nucleophilicity but are rather weakly dependent on base and oxidant concentrations. The CL properties of the above systems are discussed in the context of their physicochemical features gained from fluorescence spectroscopy, spectrophotometric titration, MS, and HPLC. Electronically excited 10-methyl-9-acridinones are the light-emitting entities in both organic and aqueous environments. It was also found that the tendency for an unwanted side-process, the production of a pseudobase form of AE, to take place was similar in alcoholic and aqueous media, although 2-methoxy ring-substituted derivatives seemed to be less susceptible to this dark-type conversion. On the basis of these results new CL systems are postulated that are more efficient than their aqueous counterparts.