Synthesis of pH-activatable red fluorescent BODIPY dyes with distinct functionalities.

A series of tunable pH-dependent BODIPY dyes were synthesized and further functionalized in a Knoevenagel condensation reaction with various aldehydes. In this fashion, monofunctional dyes containing an alkyne, azide, or carboxylic acid (masked as its methyl ester) as ligation sites as well as asymmetrical bifunctional dyes were obtained, without compromising their pH-dependency. In addition, fluorescence excitation and emission maxima for these dyes were shown to be significantly red-shifted in comparison to their tetramethyl precursors.