New indolium fluorofores for two-photon absortion (2PA) bioimaging applications

NEW INDOLIUM FLUOROFORES FOR TWO-PHOTON ABSORPTION (2PA) BIOIMAGING APPLICATIONS Ezequiel Pérez-Inestrosa,1,2 Carlos Benitez,1,2 Francisco Nájera.1,2 1Department of Organic Chemistry, University of Málaga, IBIMA, Campus de Teatinos, E-29071 Málaga, Spain 2Andalusian Centre for Nanomedicine and Biotechnology-BIONAND, Parque Tecnológico de Andalucía, E-29590 Málaga, Spain E-mail: [email protected] The development of organic materials with 2PA has attracted intensive attention in the past two decades [1]. In two-photon bio-imaging applications the design of the chromophore requires to have a good cross-section (σ2PA) and good biological compatibility which depends on the molecular volume and polarity [2]. In this work, we present the design, synthesis and characterization of new indolium derivatives. These compounds are easy to achieve with good yields and good photophysical properties. In addition, time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) has been carried out to investigate the energy level of the ground and excited state. N + H 3 CCH 3 CH 3 R n Their spectral properties and assays performed on cultured cells, demonstrate the potential of these compounds as fluorescent probes with application in two-photon bio-imaging. Acknowledgments: Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación-Spain (CTQ2013-41339-P and CTQ201571896-REDT). [1] Lim, C. S.; Cho, B. R. Tetrahedron 2015, 71, 8219–8249. [2] Ge, X.; Gan, X.; Yao, S.; Wang, K.; Zhu, W.; Yu, J.; Wu, J.; Tian, Y.; Zhou, H. J. Mater. Chem. B 2016, 4, 2785–2793. P31 8