The project is devoted to the development of new AIE/AIEE fluorophores, that allows significant improvement of photophysical characteristics (strong fluorescence emission with high quantum yield, sharp absorption and emission bands, adjustable Stokes shift, etc.), expansion of application field, to bring the research process closer to the real conditions of potential application (concentrated phase, aggregated state). The project is based on original methods for the synthesis of aromatic and hydrogenated heterocycles and heterocyclic systems and their mono- and bisboronic complexes. Heterocyclic fluorophores and their boronic complexes, which we plan to use for designing nanoparticles, are small-sized and mostly low-toxic, biogenic substances. The listed advantages differentiated them from currently used compounds in other scientific laboratories. Moreover, they are capable to form weak interactions with other biomolecules that provide transport and penetration through the cell membrane, can exhibit a therapeutic effect. In the course of the project, a systematic study of fluorescent properties of the obtained heterocyclic AIE/AIEE fluorophores, as well as their organoboron derivatives in various solvents, pH, environments, including simulating biological conditions and at different luminogens concentrations will be done, that will allow to determine the manifestation of AIE/AIEE-effect for nanoparticles formation.
To obtain the quantitative and qualitative relationships between various factors (fluorophore structure, solvents characteristics, analytes presence) on the photophysical properties of the compounds under study, we are going to perform quantum-mechanical calculations (DFT/B3LYP/6-311G).
During the project, the physico-chemical properties of the fluorophores, the size of the nanoparticles and the stability of the resulting systems formed during the aggregation, as well as the self-organization processes will be studied. Biological experiments will allow determining the possibilities of their further applications in biology and medicine.
Thus, the proposed research will lead to the discovery of new chemical transformations and the development of original and effective synthetic methods for new AIE-fluorophores of various structures and configurations will provide a new data on the chemical and physical properties of these compounds, as well will outline their value for biology, medicine and optoelectronics.