Novel asymmetric monomeric monomethine cyanine dyes 5a–d, which are analogues of the commercial dsDNA fluorescence binder thiazole orange (TO), have been synthesized. The synthesis was achieved by using a simple, efficient and environmetally benign synthetic procedure to obtain these cationic dyes in good to excellent yields. Interactions of the new derivatives of TO with dsDNA have been investigated by absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. The longest wavelength absorption bands in the UV–vis spectra of the target compounds are in the range of 509–519 nm and these are characterized by high molar absorptivities (63000–91480 L·mol⁻¹·cm⁻¹). All investigated dyes from the series are either not fluorescent or their fluorescence is quite low, but they become strongly fluorescent after binding to dsDNA. The influence of the substituents attached to the chromophores was investigated by combination of spectroscopic (UV–vis and fluorescence spectroscopy) and theoretical (DFT and TDDFT calculations) methods.

The reaction of homophthalic anhydride and N-(furan-2-yl-methylidene)- benzylamine in different solvents and varying temperatures was studied in detail. Mixtures of the expected trans- and cis-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline-4-carboxylic acids trans-5 and cis-5, alongwith by-products 6 and 7 were obtained in dichloroethane or benzene. In pyridine, used for the first time, the reaction became completely diastereoselective, giving only the trans isomer. The carboxylic acid group of trans-5 was transformed in four steps into cyclic aminomethyl groups which yielded various new tetrahydroisoquinolinones trans- 11a-g, incorporating both a known fragment of pharmacological interest and various pharmacophoric substituents.

The rational design of cyanine dyes for the fine-tuning of their photophysical properties undoubtedly requires theoretical considerations for understanding and predicting their absorption and fluorescence characteristics. The present study aims to assess the applicability and accuracy of several DFT functionals for calculating the absorption and fluorescence maxima of monomethine cyanine dyes. Ten DFT functionals and different basis sets were examined to select the proper theoretical model for calculating the electronic transitions of eight representative molecules from this class of compounds. The self-aggregation of the dyes was also considered. The pure exchange functionals (M06L, HFS, HFB, B97D) combined with the triple-zeta basis set 6-311+G(2d,p) showed the best performance during the theoretical estimation of the absorption and fluorescent characteristics of cyanine dyes.

Preliminary differentiating screening of the antibacterial and antifungal activity of a series of diastereomeric cis/trans-3-aryl(heteroaryl)-3,4-dihydroisocoumarin-4-carboxylic acids (3a- i) was performed by the agar diffusion method against twelve microorganism strains of different taxonomic groups. S. aureus and A. niger were the most sensitive strains to the antibiotic effect of the tested compounds, both inhibited by 10 of 12 compounds. The most potent antibacterial agent was cis-3-phenyl-3,4-dihydroisocoumarin-4-carboxylic acid (cis-3a), exhibiting activity against all seven bacterial test strains

Four benzothiazolium crown ether-containing styryl dyes were prepared through an optimized synthetic procedure. Two of the dyes (4b and 4d) having substituents in the 5-position of the benzothiazole ring are newly synthesized compounds. They demonstrated a higher degree of trans–cis photoisomerization and a longer life time of the higher energy forms in comparison with the known analogs. The chemical structures of all dyes in the series were characterized by NMR, UV–vis, IR spectroscopy and elemental analysis. The steady-state photophysical properties of the dyes were elucidated. The stability constants of metal complexes were determined and are in good agreement with the literature data for reference dyes. The temporal evolution of trans-to-cis isomerization was observed in a real-time regime. The dyes demonstrated a low intrinsic fluorescence of their Ba²⁺ complexes and high yield of E/Z photoisomerization with lifetimes of the higher energy form longer than 500 seconds. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations at the B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) level were performed in order to predict the enthalpies (H) of the cis and trans isomers and the storage energies (ΔH) for the systems studied.

The LSChrom software incorporating the Snyder theory was applied to organic compounds with simple and complex structure being cis or trans olefinic derivatives and substituted tetrahydroisoquinolines, respectively. Lists of recommended mobile phases for thin‐layer chromatography (TLC) on silica of the compounds studied were obtained, avoiding any preliminary trial and error experiments. The procedure is based on the structure of any compound, literature data for the adsorption properties of the relevant groups available in the structure, and numerous calculations. The experiments with 12 arbitrarily selected mobile phases from the recommended lists showed, for about 150 measurements, the proper retention of any compound and good separation of the cis–trans isomers. Thus, a new successful application of the both theory and software was achieved.