A novel water‐soluble fluorescent probe: Synthesis, luminescence and biological properties of the sodium salt of the 4‐sulfonato‐3,3′,5,5′‐tetramethyl‐2,2′‐pyrromethen‐1,1′‐BF2 complex

The reaction of the 3,3′,5,5′‐tetramethyl‐2,2′‐pyrromethen‐1,1′‐BF2 complex with chlorosulfonic acid and its subsequent neutralisation with sodium bicarbonate yields the titled compound 1, which, in addition to appropriate thermal and photochemical stability, possesses excellent fluorescent properties. As a preliminary assay of its potential usefulness as a fluorescent probe in medical and biological research, the chemical was administered intravenously to rats and possible signs of toxicity were recorded. The rats showed no apparent detrimental effects and excreted the compound in the urine within three hours. In tests in which Salmonella and E. coli strains were used as indicators of genotoxicity, no mutagenic effects were observed.