Medium effects on the photophysical properties of 4-hydroxythiazoles

• Grant number: 13/07867-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: July 01, 2013
• End date: June 30, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Organic Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Erick Leite Bastos
• Grantee: Nicole Filipini
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The enzymatic oxidation of the firefly luciferin produces a tiazolinone subjected to tautomerization. The photophysical properties of this compound, including the color of the fluorescence emission, are different from those of its tautomer, i.e., the keto form is green fluorescent, while the enol form emits in the red. The goal of this undergraduate research project is to investigate the effect of the environment on the photophysical properties of a library consisting of seventeen4-hydroxythiazoles. The study of these synthetic analogs of natural pigments will allow the determination of structure-activity relationships. The results may lead to the identification of new solvatochromic compounds as well as fluorescent probes derived from natural pigments for the application in biological systems. (AU)