Rhenium fac-Tricarbonyl Bisimine Chalcogenide Complexes: Synthesis, Photophysical Studies, and Confocal and...

Area of Science:

• Coordination Chemistry
• Bioinorganic Chemistry
• Photophysics

Background:

• Rhenium carbonyl complexes are investigated for their unique photophysical properties.
• Heteroaromatic N∧N ligands and thiolate/selenoate ligands offer tunable characteristics.
• Cellular imaging requires stable probes with distinct photophysical behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize novel rhenium carbonyl complexes.
• To evaluate the stability and photophysical properties of these complexes, particularly selenolate derivatives.
• To assess their potential for cellular imaging and time-resolved microscopy.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis and characterization of rhenium carbonyl complexes.
• Photophysical property measurements (stability, fluorescence).
• Cellular imaging studies in A549 cells using 405 nm excitation.
• Colocalization studies and fluorescence lifetime measurements.

Main Results:

• Successful preparation and characterization of pyta/tapy-based rhenium carbonyl complexes with thiolate/selenoate ligands.
• Selenolate complexes exhibit distinct stability and photophysical properties compared to chloride and benzenethiolate analogues.
• Two complexes were successfully imaged in A549 cells, showing lysosomal accumulation.
• Significant, variable fluorescence lifetimes were observed in cellular environments, with notable increases from solution to solid state.

Conclusions:

• The synthesized rhenium complexes demonstrate promising characteristics for bioimaging applications.
• Their long and variable fluorescence lifetimes indicate potential for time-resolved microscopy.
• Lysosomal localization suggests specific cellular uptake mechanisms for these novel probes.