Effect of Hydroxylic Solvent on the Fluorescence Behavior of Some Bioactive 9-Oxo-imidazo[1,2-a]purine Derivatives

The spectral and photophysical behavior of four fluorescent 9-oxo-imidazo[1,2-a]purine derivatives containing pyridyl, pyridylphenyl, phenyl, and biphenylyl substituents at the C(6) position of the tricyclic skeleton is described. The studies were performed in several aprotic and protic organic solvents using absorption spectroscopy as well as steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. The results are also presented of TDDFT calculations on singlet−singlet excitation energies and oscillator strengths for two models of 9-oxo-imidazo[1,2-a]purine, with phenyl or pyridyl substituents, both in the gas phase and in methanol solution. While the derivatives with aryl substituents did not show any significant dependence of their static and dynamic fluorescence properties on the nature of the solvent, the compounds containing a pyridine residue exhibited a remarkable reduction of their fluorescence quantum yields and lifetimes in the alcoholic solutions. The solute−solvent hydrogen-bonding interacti...