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Tetraarylantimony(V) carboxylates based on 5-carboxyl and 6-carboxyl 2,2’-bipyridines (4 compounds) were synthesized for the first time. The structure of one of the compounds was confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. It was shown that the carboxyl group participates in the coordination of the antimony(V) cation, but the bipyridine fragment does not. The antitumor activity of the new complexes was assessed by molecular docking, and the most probable targets were determined. It was shown that the affinity of ligands to them is higher than that of the corresponding complexes. The best results were obtained for complex 3a; its inhibition of VEGFR2 is 74% more effective compared to the native ligand. In addition, the primary photophysical properties of the new carboxylates in acetonitrile solutions were studied. It was shown that the luminescence quantum yield values strongly depend on the position of the carboxyl group: for 5-substituted compounds they reach 65.0%, while for 6-substituted ones they have an extremely low ( 0.1%) value. At the same time, the absorption and emission maxima are within 300–314 nm and 364–403 nm, respectively.

Three efficient synthetic approaches towards new azomethine- and terpyridine-containing 2,5-dihydropyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4-dione (diketopyrrolopyrrole, DPP) based polymers, such as P1 and P2, are reported. The first approach involves the Pd-catalyzed synthesis via two- or three-component Suzuki or Stille cross-coupling reaction in solution. The second approach involves Pd-catalyzed Suzuki cross-coupling reaction under ball-milling conditions. And, finally, the third approach involves Pd-free condensation reaction under ball-milling conditions. The newly obtained polymers exhibited absorbance around 700 nm and emission around 900 nm, and, thus, these polymers are considered to be NIR-fluorophores.

A total of 21 novel xanthone and acridone derivatives were synthesized using the reactions of 1,2,4-triazine derivatives with 1-hydroxy-3-methoxy-10-methylacridone, 1,3-dimethoxy-, and 1,3-dihydroxanthone, followed by optional dihydrotiazine ring aromatization. The synthesized compounds were evaluated for their anticancer activity against colorectal cancer HCT116, glioblastoma A-172, breast cancer Hs578T, and human embryonic kidney HEK-293 tumor cell lines. Five compounds (7a, 7e, 9e, 14a, and 14b) displayed good in vitro antiproliferative activities against these cancer cell lines. Compounds 7a and 7e demonstrated low toxicity for normal human embryonic kidney (HEK-293) cells, which determines the possibility of further development of these compounds as anticancer agents. Annexin V assay demonstrated that compound 7e activates apoptotic mechanisms and inhibits proliferation in glioblastoma cells.

New Tb(III) and Eu(III) complexes based on aryl-2,2′-bipyridine ligands with a cyclic DO3A chelating unit appended in the alpha position of the bipyridine core were synthesized. The photophysical properties of these complexes were compared with those of complexes of ligands with identical aryl-2,2′-bipyridine chromophores, but with an acyclic DTTA residue as an additional chelating site in the alpha position of the bipyridine core. The nature of the polyaminocarboxylic acid fragments was found to have a significant influence on the luminescence. For some of the Eu(III) complexes, upon the transition from acyclic DTTA- to the cyclic DO3A-appended ligands, a noticeable increase in the intensity of Eu(III) luminescence was observed, with an increase in the quantum yield of up to 2.55 times. In contrast, for most of the Tb(III) complexes, a similar transition resulted in a noticeable decrease in the luminescence intensity of the Tb(III) cation.

Linked to Alzheimer’s disease (AD), amyloids and tau-protein are known to contain a large number of cysteine (Cys) residues. In addition, certain levels of some common biogenic thiols (cysteine (Cys), homocysteine (Hcy), glutathione (GSH), etc.) in biological fluids are closely related to AD as well as other diseases. Therefore, probes with a selective interaction with the above-mentioned thiols can be used for the monitoring and visualizing changes of (bio)thiols in the biological fluids as well as in the brain of animal models of Alzheimer’s disease. In this study, new Eu(III), Tb(III), Gd(III) and Sm(III) complexes of 2,2′-bipyridine ligands containing TEMPO fragments as receptor units for (bio)thiols are reported. The presence of free radical fragments of the ligand in the complexes was proved by using the electronic paramagnetic resonance (EPR) method. Among all the complexes, the Eu(III) complex turned out to be the most promising one as luminescence- and spin-probe for the detection of biogenic thiols. The EPR and fluorescent titration methods showed the interaction of the resulting complex with free Cys and GSH in solution. To study the practical applicability of the probes for the monitoring of AD in-vivo, by using the above-mentioned Eu(III)-based probe, the staining of the brain of mice with amyloidosis and Vero cell cultures supplemented with the cysteine-enriched medium was studied as well as the fluorescence titration of Bovine Serum Albumin, BSA (as the model for the thiol moieties containing protein), was carried out. Based on the results of fluorescence titration, the formation of a non-covalent inclusion complex between the above-mentioned Eu(III) complex and BSA was suggested.

This paper reports the synthesis of four types of annulated pyranoindole congeners: pyrano[3,2-f]indole, pyrano[2,3-g]indole, pyrano[2,3-f]indole, and pyrano[2,3-e]indole and photophysical studies in this series. The synthesis of pyrano[3,2-f], [2,3-g], and [2,3-e]indoles involve a tandem of Bischler–Möhlau reaction of 3-aminophenol with benzoin to form 6-hydroxy- or 4-hydroxyindole followed by Pechmann condensation of these hydroxyindoles with β-ketoesters. Pyrano[2,3-f]indoles were synthesized through the Nenitzescu reaction of p-benzoquinone and ethyl aminocrotonates and subsequent Pechmann condensation of the obtained 5-hydroxyindole derivatives. Among the pyranoindoles studied, the most promising were pyrano[3,2-f] and [2,3-g]indoles. These compounds were characterized by moderate to high quantum yields (30–89%) and a large (9000–15,000 cm−1) Stokes shift. More detailed photophysical studies were carried out for a series of the most promising derivatives of pyrano[3,2-f] and [2,3-g]indoles to demonstrate their positive solvatochromism, and the data collected was analyzed using Lippert-Mataga equation. Quantum chemical calculations were performed to deepen the knowledge of the absorption and emission properties of pyrano[3,2-f] and [2,3-g]indoles as well as to explain their unusual geometries and electronic structures.

A series of novel 4-(aryl)-benzo[4,5]imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidine-3-carbonitriles were obtained through the Povarov (aza-Diels–Alder) and oxidation reactions, starting from benzimidazole-2-arylimines. Based on the literature data and X-ray diffraction analysis, it was discovered that during the Povarov reaction, [1,3] sigmatropic rearrangement leading to dihydrobenzimidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidines took place. The structures of all the obtained compounds were confirmed based on the data from 1H- and 13C-NMR spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. For all the obtained compounds, their photophysical properties were studied. In all the cases, a positive emission solvatochromism with Stokes shifts from 120 to 180 nm was recorded. Aggregation-Induced Emission (AIE) has been illustrated for compound 6c using different water fractions (fw) in THF. The compounds 6c and 6f demonstrated changes in emission maxima or/and intensities after mechanical stimulation.

A series of new α-(N-biphenyl)-substituted 2,2′-bipyridines were obtained through the combination of the ipso-nucleophilic aromatic substitution of the C5-cyano group, aza-Diels–Alder and Suzuki cross-coupling reactions, starting from 5-cyano-1,2,4-triazines. For the obtained compounds, photophysical and fluorosolvatochromic properties were studied. Fluorophores 3l and 3b demonstrated unexpected AIEE activity, while 3a and 3h showed promising nitroexplosive detection abilities.