New 3-(heteroaryl)-2-iminocoumarin-based borate complexes: synthesis, photophysical properties, and rational...

Members of a series of boron difluoride complexes with 3-(heteroaryl)-2-iminocoumarin ligands bearing both a phenolic hydroxyl group (acting as a fluorogenic center) and an N-aryl substituent (acting as a stabilizing moiety) have been synthesized in good yields by applying a straightforward two-step method. These novel fluorogenic dyes belong to the family of "Boricos" (D. Frath et al., Chem. Commun.- 2013, 49, 4908-4910) and are the first examples of phenol-based fluorophores of which the photophysical properties in the green-yellow spectral range are dramatically improved by N,N-chelation of a boron atom. Modulation of their fluorescence properties through reversible chemical modification of their phenol moieties has been demonstrated by the preparation of the corresponding 2,4-dinitrophenyl (DNP) ethers, which led to a dramatic "OFF-ON" fluorescence response upon reaction with thiols. Additionally, to expand the scope of these "7-hydroxy-Borico" derivatives, particularly in biolabeling, amine or carboxylic acid functionalities amenable to (bio)conjugation have been introduced within their scaffold. Their utility has been demonstrated in the preparation of fluorescent bovine serum albumin (BSA) conjugates and "Borico"-DOTA-like scaffolds in an effort to design novel monomolecular multimodal fluorescence- radioisotope imaging agents.