Convenient one-pot procedure for synthesizing 4,4′-dimethoxy-boradiaza-s-indacene dyes and their application to cell labeling

We succeeded in developing a convenient one-pot pathway for synthesizing 4,4′-dimethoxy-boradiaza-s-indacene dyes 4a–d. The structures feature two methoxy groups in place of the fluorine atoms in 4,4′-difluoro-4-boradiaza-s-indacene. These novel dyes emitted green fluorescence and possessed moderate to high fluorescence quantum yields (Φ=0.32–0.93). We demonstrated that these dyes have applicability to cell labeling.