Near-infrared (NIR) fluorophores absorbing maximally
in the region
beyond 800 nm, i.e., deep-NIR spectral region, are actively sought
for biomedical applications. Ideal dyes are bright, nontoxic, photostable,
biocompatible, and easily derivatized to introduce functionalities
(e.g., for bioconjugation or aqueous solubility). The rational design
of such fluorophores remains a major challenge. Silicon-substituted
rhodamines have been successful for bioimaging applications in the
red spectral region. The longer-wavelength silicon-substituted congeners
for the deep-NIR spectral region are unknown to date. We successfully
prepared four silicon-substituted bis-benzannulated rhodamine dyes
(ESi5a–ESi5d), with an efficient five-step cascade
on a gram-scale. Because of the extensive overlapping of their HOMO–LUMO
orbitals, ESi5a–ESi5d are highly absorbing (λabs ≈ 865 nm and ε > 105 cm–1 M–1). By restraining both the rotational
freedom
via annulation and the vibrational freedom via silicon-imparted strain,
the fluorochromic scaffold of ESi5 is highly rigid, resulting
in an unusually long fluorescence lifetime (τ > 700 ps in
CH2Cl2) and a high fluorescence quantum yield
(ϕ
= 0.14 in CH2Cl2). Their half-lives toward photobleaching
are 2 orders of magnitude longer than the current standard (ICG in
serum). They are stable in the presence of biorelevant concentration
of nucleophiles or reactive oxygen species. They are minimally toxic
and readily metabolized. Upon tail vein injection of ESi5a (as an example), the vasculature of a nude mouse was imaged with
a high signal-to-background ratio. ESi5 dyes have broad
potentials for bioimaging in the deep-NIR spectral region.