Photophysical characterization of new 3-amino and 3-acetamido BODIPY dyes with solvent sensitive properties

The structural, electronic and photophysical properties of three new asymmetric, highly fluorescent difluoroborondipyrromethene (BODIPY) dyes, bearing an amino or an acetamido group at position 3 of the chromophoric core, have been studied in different apolar, polar and polar/protic solvents. The presence of the 3-amido group extents the delocalization of the pi-system, leading to bathochromic shifts in the absorption and fluorescence bands, as predicted by quantum mechanic calculations. The 3-amino dye shows photophysical properties highly dependent on the solvent polarity and acidity, and is characterized by a hypsochromic shift of its absorption band, with regard to the corresponding acetylated dye, as well as a low fluorescence quantum yield in acid media with proton concentration lower than 4 x 10(-4) M. In media with higher proton concentration, the BF2 bridge group of the 3-amino dye is removed, yielding the corresponding non-fluorescent dipyrromethene precursor. These results suggest that the 3-amino dye could be used as a fluorescence probe for the study of the acidity of different environments.