Synthesis and photophysical characterization of new fluorescent bis-amino acids bearing a heterocyclic bridge containing benzoxazole and thiophene

A series of new bis-alanine derivatives bearing (oligo)thiophene and benzoxazole units as the hetero-aromatic bridge were synthesized in moderate to good yields. The photophysical characterization of these bis-amino acids was performed by UV-vis absorption and fluorescence emission studies and revealed that the compounds displayed exceptionally high fluorescence quantum yields, making them good candidates for application as fluorescent probes when incorporated into peptides, as well as peptide conformation-restricting and cross-linking elements. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.