A number of conjugated bicyclic systems, in which two aromatic rings are linked by a monomethine bridge, undergo isomerization via bond rotation, when excited with a photon (Figure 1A)1,2,3,4,5. The excited isomer will generally relax to the ground state through non-radiative decay processes6. If the energy barrier to bond rotation is increased to a large enough extent, it is possible to restrict or prevent the photoisomerization. Instead, photonic excitation results in an excited singlet state that often relaxes via fluorescence rather than non-radiative decay (Figure 1B). Restraining photoisomerization is most commonly accomplished by mechanically restricting bond rotation through tethering the two aromatic ring systems by covalent linkages, thereby locking the molecule into a particular isomeric state. This approach has been utilized to create several different fluorescent tricyclic dipyrrinone and dipyrrolemethane analogs such as: 3H,5H-dipyrrolo[1,2-c:2',1'-f]pyrimidin-3-ones (1), xanthoglows (2)6,7, pyrroloindolizinedione analogs (3)8, and BODIPY analogs9 (4, Figure 2) whereby the pyrrolidine and/or pyrrole ring systems are tethered with methylene, carbonyl, or boron difluoro linkers. Typically, 1-4 possess ΦF > 0.7 suggesting these systems are very efficient as fluorophore units.
It is also possible to restrict photoisomerization through means other than covalently linking the ring systems. For example, the phenolic and imidazolinone rings (Figure 2) of Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) are restricted to rotation by the protein environment; the restrictive setting increases the quantum yield by three orders of magnitude in comparison to the same chromophore unit in free solution10. It is believed that the protein scaffold of GFP provides a rotational barrier through steric and electrostatic effects11. Recently, our group in collaboration with the Odoh group at the University of Nevada, Reno discovered another fluorophore system that bears structural similarity to the dipyrrinone-based xanthoglow systems (Figure 2)12. These dipyrrinone analogs, however, differ from the xanthoglow system in that intramolecular hydrogen bonds, rather than covalent bonds, deter photoisomerization and result in a fluorescent bicyclic system. Furthermore, the pyrazole, imidazole, and isoindolone dipyrrinone analogs can hydrogen bond in protonated and deprotonated states; deprotonation results in the red-shifting of both the excitation and emission wavelengths, likely due to a change in the electronic nature of the system. While hydrogen bonding has been reported to increase quantum yields though restricted rotation13,14,15,16, we are unaware of any other fluorophore system in which restricted isomerization serves as a mode of fluorescence in both protonated and deprotonated states of the molecule. Therefore, these pH dependent dipyrrinone fluorophores are unique in that respect.
In this video, we focus on the synthesis and chemical characterization of the fluorescent dipyrrinone analog series. In particular, there is an emphasis placed on the Claisen-Schmidt condensation methodology that was used to construct the complete series of fluorescent analogs. This reaction relies on the generation of a base-mediated vinylogous enolate ion which attacks an aldehyde group, to produce an alcohol that subsequently undergoes elimination. For the dipyrrinone analog series, a pyrrolinone/isoindolone is converted to an enolate to facilitate an attack upon an aldehyde group attached to a pyrazole or imidazole ring (Figure 3); after elimination a fully conjugated bicyclic system, linked by a methine-bridge, is formed. It is noteworthy that the entire series of dipyrrinone analogs can be constructed from readily available commercial materials and can be produced in a single one-pot reaction sequence typically in moderate to high yields (yields range from approximately 50-95%). Since most of the dipyrrinone analogs are highly crystalline in nature, very little purification outside of standard workup conditions is required to produce analytically pure samples. Consequently, this fluorophore system requires only a few steps to access from readily available commercial materials and can be synthesized, purified, and prepared for analytical or biological studies in a relatively short time frame.