Synthesis of fluorescent probes based on stilbenes and diphenylacetylenes targeting β-amyloid plaques

Three fluorescent probes were synthesized aiming for optical imaging to detect amyloid plaques present in the patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). These compounds were prepared via Sonogashira coupling of a well-defined fluorophore (4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene, BODIPY) with the pharmacophore possessing either a stilbene or a diphenylacetylene moiety. Different polyethylene glycol chain lengths were used as linkers between the fluorophore and the pharmacophore to adjust the lipophilicity of these probes. These compounds exhibit strong fluorescence emission between 665 and 680 nm and have very high extinction coefficients comparable to the parent fluorophore, BODIPY dye.