Acetylene-substituted two-photon absorbing molecules with rigid elongated pi-conjugation: synthesis, spectroscopic properties and two-photon fluorescence cell imaging applications.
Two asymmetrical molecules with substituted acetylene as central rigid elongated conjugation are reported as potential chromophores for two-photon microscopic imaging. These molecules consist of a typical D-pi-A structure, have different donors (D), the same pi-conjugated center (pi) and the same acceptor (A). Structural characterization and spectroscopic properties, including single-photon (linear) absorption, quantum yields, single-photon fluorescence, and two-photon absorption spectra, were studied in solvents with different polarity. These acetylene-substituted molecules were found to have high two-photon absorption cross-sections (for example, 690 GM for molecule 1 in toluene), which were determined by a two-photon induced fluorescence method using a femtosecond Ti: sapphire laser as excitation source. Single- and two-photon cellular imaging experiments demonstrate that the substituted acetylene derivatives could be one kind of promising two-photon fluorescence probes for cellular imaging.
Liu
Bo
B
Key Laboratory of Biomedical Photonics of Ministry of Education, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, People's Republic of China.
Zhang
Hai-Li
HL
Liu
Jun
J
Huang
Zhen-Li
ZL
Zhao
Yuan-Di
YD
Luo
Qing-Ming
QM
D000480:Alkynes / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D002460:Cell Line; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D010777:Photochemistry; D017785:Photons; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D013194:Staining and Labeling
D000480:Alkynes; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes