4-Amino-N-adamantylphthalimide (1) is a dye with moderate absorptivity (in CH3CN ε363 = 4200 M-1 cm-1) and high quantum yield of fluorescence (ΦF = 0.15-0.80) that exhibits fluorosolvatochromic properties. The dye can be excited at 405 nm and the position of fluorescence maximum and the Stokes shift are well correlated with the ET(30) parameter. The excitation in the near-visible part of the spectrum and low cytotoxicity allow use of the dye in live cell microscopy. Due to its amphiphilic character, the dye stains artificial membranes in liposomes. Using confocal microscopy on two human cancer cell lines, we have shown that 1 binds primarily to intracellular lipid droplets. Colocalization experiments with different organelle markers indicated that 1 additionally binds to mitochondrial membranes. The fluorosolvatochromism of 1 allows the simultaneous visualization of mitochondria and intracellular lipid droplets in two separate emission channels, which has a potential use in cells and tissues exhibiting intense oxidative metabolism of lipids.

In this study, three groups of adamantylphthalimides, bearing different substituents at the phthalimide moiety, N-(4′-R 2 )phthalimidoadamantanes (1-7), 3-[N-(4′-R 2 ) phthalimido]-1-adamantanols (8-10), and 3-[N-(4′-R 2 )phthalimido]adamantane-1carboxylic acids (11-15), were synthesized and screened against tumor cells and viruses. The most potent compounds are not substituted at the adamantane and bear an OH or NH 2 substituent at the phthalimide (compounds 3 and 5). The antiproliferative activities of compounds 3 and 5 are in the micromolar range, much higher than the one of thalidomide. A minor antiviral activity against cytomegalovirus and varicella-zoster virus was found for compounds 3 and 5, but these compounds lacked selectivity. The results presented are important for the rational design of the next-generation compounds with anticancer and antiviral activities. K E Y W O R D S adamantane, antiproliferative activity, antiviral activity, phthalimide

Quinone methide precursors 1a–e, with different alkyl linkers between the naphthol and the naphthalimide chromophore, were synthesized. Their photophysical properties and photochemical reactivity were investigated and connected with biological activity. Upon excitation of the naphthol, Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) to the naphthalimide takes place and the quantum yields of fluorescence are low (ΦF ≈ 10−2). Due to FRET, photodehydration of naphthols to QMs takes place inefficiently (ΦR ≈ 10−5). However, the formation of QMs can also be initiated upon excitation of naphthalimide, the lower energy chromophore, in a process that involves photoinduced electron transfer (PET) from the naphthol to the naphthalimide. Fluorescence titrations revealed that 1a and 1e form complexes with ct-DNA with moderate association constants Ka ≈ 105–106 M−1, as well as with bovine serum albumin (BSA) Ka ≈ 105 M−1 (1:1 complex). The irradiation of the complex 1e@BSA resulted in the alkylation of the protein, probably via QM. The antiproliferative activity of 1a–e against two human cancer cell lines (H460 and MCF 7) was investigated with the cells kept in the dark or irradiated at 350 nm, whereupon cytotoxicity increased, particularly for 1e (>100 times). Although the enhancement of this activity upon UV irradiation has no imminent therapeutic application, the results presented have importance in the rational design of new generations of anticancer phototherapeutics that absorb visible light.