Substituted 1,8-naphthalimide derivatives are useful molecular structures for the development of fluorescent cell imaging agents. We describe work on the development of new fluorescent 1,8-naphthalimides that can be functionalised to coordinate metal ions, such as Re(I) or Au(I) (see figure). The intramolecular charge transfer photophysical characteristics of the probes are ideally suited (visible absorption / emission; large Stokes’ shift) to fluorescent microscopy applications. The resultant species have been studied in cell imaging experiments using a range of different cell lines (including MCF7 and HEK). The results show that subtle variations in naphthalimide structure can dictate intracellular localisation (for example mitochondiral targeting - see figure) and cytotoxicity. We show that these fluorophores can be successfully used to label Au(I) and we also demonstrate how the Re(I) coordination chemistry can be used to successfully validate <sup>99m</sup>Tc(I) work which has permitted SPECT radioimaging studies to be undertaken.

Complexes based on fluorescent 1,8-naphthalimide derivatives and applications in bioimaging

254th National Meeting (2017)

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