Chalcones have several biological activities and currently are very studied due to their high therapeutic potential. They can have antitumor, anti-inflammatory, antifungal and antibacterial properties.1 These compounds occur in Nature as secondary metabolites of terrestrial plants and are precursors of flavonoids biosynthesis.2 Generally, they are not luminescent, but derivatives with some particular patterns of substitution can present fair quantum yields.3
Excited State Intramolecular Proton Transfer (ESIPT) is a particular case of tautomerization, and molecules exhibit ESIPT fluorescence if their structures incorporate an intramolecular hydrogen bonding interaction between a hydrogen donor (-OH or -NH) and a hydrogen acceptor.4 The intramolecular hydrogen bonding plays a crucial role in the proton transfer process.5 If the dye is fluorescent, emission from both tautomers may be observed, leading to a dual emission.6
Here, we report the synthesis and photophysical characterizations of 2’-aminochalcones, substituted with electron donating or withdrawing groups, which could be used as markers to study the environment of cellular organelles.
