Synthesis and Investigation of Derivatives of 1,8-Naphthalimide with a Red Emission via an Aromatic Nucleophilic Substitution Reaction

1,8-Napthalimides (NIs) have been widely used as fluorescent molecules in biological, chemical, and medical fields because NIs shows high stability and various fluorescence properties under different conditions. However, NIs typically display a fluorescence emission wavelength in the range of 350 – 550 nm which can be notably interfered with by autofluorescence in living cells, significantly limiting their bio-applications. Moreover, low solubility in aqueous media is another major limitation for NIs. In this project, four derivatives of NIs (1–4) have been synthesized via an aromatic nucleophilic substitution reaction and their photophysical properties have been investigated in various media (water, MeOH, MeCN, DMSO, EtOAc, and THF). All of these derivatives (1–4) show a long emission wavelength around 600 nm and high solubility in polar solvents. Particularly molecules (1–4) show the longest emission (624–629 nm) in water and the fluorescence intensity is not significantly varied in the range of pH 4–11. These unique features, long emission wavelength, high solubility, and high stability in difference pH media, will allow these derivative (1–4) to be used as excellent labeling reagents in the biological system.