Water-soluble fluorescent molecules are useful for biological studies in solution and in cells. Molecules with long-wavelength emission and large Stokes shift are particularly useful because the background of samples due to auto-fluorescence can be minimized. We have designed and synthesized a series of water-soluble perylene monoimides with different heterocyclic amino substituents at the 9-position of the perylene-core. The photophysical properties (e.g. absorption, fluorescence emission, quantum yield, and fluorescence decay) of these molecules have been investigated. Our study shows that these molecules absorb visible light and emit in the range of visible light to NIR (550 to 800 nm) with a large Stokes shift (150 nm) in organic solvents (e.g. methanol and DMSO) and water. We further investigated biocompatibility of these molecules in cells. We anticipate that these molecules may serve as fluorescent probes for live cell imaging.

Preparation of water-soluble perylene monoimides, and studies of photophysical properties and biocompatibility

251st National Meeting (2016)

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