Bisdeoxycoelenterazine derivatives for improvement of bioluminescence resonance energy transfer assays

We report here syntheses of bisdeoxycoelenterazine derivatives that show significantly improved kinetics of the bioluminescent reaction. All derivatives contain a protecting group at the carbonyl group of the imidazopyrazinone moiety that ensures slower light signal decay. The longer lasting light signal offers the possibility of real-time imaging of protein-protein interactions.