Synthesis and Polarity-Sensitive Fluorescent Properties of a Novel Water-Soluble Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH)

We report the successful synthesis and spectroscopic characterization of a novel, water soluble anthanthrene-based derivative, 6,12-bis(TEG)anthanthrene 3. The presence of the two long ethylene glycol side chains gives this large, six-membered polycyclic aromatic compound a high aqueous solubility. It exhibits UV–vis absorption properties similar to those of anthanthrene itself, indicating that the side chains do not have a significant effect on the electronic structure of the central chromophore. The compound exhibits strong, polarity-sensitive fluorescence in aqueous solution in the blue–green region of the spectrum, with a fluorescence quantum yield of 0.13 and a polarity sensitivity factor (PSF) of 2.0. The utility of this new fluorescent molecule as a probe of supramolecular complexation was demonstrated by its inclusion into the molecular host hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin in aqueous solution. Strictly 1:1 inclusion was observed, with a moderately strong binding constant K of 650 M−1. This new fluorescence probe has significant potential applications in fluorescence-based studies of aqueous biochemical and supramolecular systems.