This study aims at designing dual-role biphotonic chromophores that could be used for photodynamic therapy (PDT) while maintaining some fluorescence in order to locate them, thus allowing selective irradiation of cancer cells when combined with targeting. Quadrupolar two-photon absorbing fluorophores were synthesized from the symmetrical functionalization of a fluorene core bearing elongated conjugated rods made from arylene–vinylene or arylene–ethynylene building blocks in order to test modifications which could increase singlet oxygen production ability while retaining some fluorescence and high two-photon absorption (TPA) cross-sections in the biological spectral range of interest. All chromophores show a polar emissive excited state whose dipole moment is highly dependent on the nature of the conjugated linker. Interestingly, the largest TPA responses in the NIR region as well as singlet oxygen quantum yield are correlated with the smallest dipole moment of the emissive excited-state. The molecular optimization study led to a multifunctional biphotonic chromophore combining high TPA cross-sections in the whole spectral range of interest (700–900 nm), reasonable singlet oxygen production efficiency, significant remaining fluorescence, and alcohol end-groups for further covalent grafting. This compound offers thus interesting potentialities for highly selective spatially-resolved two-photon PDT by incorporation in nanostructures.
本研究旨在设计具有双重功能的双光子
染料,这些
染料不仅可用于光动力疗法(PDT),同时保持一定的荧光性能以便于定位,从而在与靶向结合时可以选择性地照射癌细胞。我们通过对称功能化含
芴核心,该核心带有由亚苯基-亚
乙烯基或亚苯基-亚
乙炔基构建的延长共轭杆,合成了四极性双光子吸收荧光剂,以测试能够增加单线态氧生成能力、同时保留一定荧光和高双光子吸收(
TPA)截面在感兴趣的
生物光谱范围内的改性。所有
染料均显示出极性发射激发态,其偶极矩高度依赖于共轭连接基的性质。有趣的是,在近红外区域最大的
TPA响应以及单线态氧量子产率与发射激发态的最小偶极矩相关。分子优化研究导致了一种多功能双光子
染料的合成,该
染料在整个感兴趣的光谱范围(700-900 nm)内结合了高
TPA截面、合理的单线态氧生成效率、显著的剩余荧光和可用于进一步共价接枝的醇端基。因此,该化合物通过纳入纳米结构,为高度选择性、空间分辨的双光子PDT提供了有趣的潜在应用。