Photophysical and biological properties of iridium tetrazolato complexes functionalised with fatty acid chains

Five cyclometalated Ir(III) tetrazolato complexes functionalised with fatty acid chains (octanoic, palmitic, stearic, palmitoleic, and oleic) have been synthesised. The fatty acids were chosen to evaluate the potential effect of the length and degree of unsaturation on the biological properties of the complexes for use as cellular imaging agents. The complexes were analysed in both organic and aqueous media to determine if the presence and nature of the fatty acid chains had a significant effect on their photophysical properties. The complexes display green-yellow emission in dichloromethane solutions with relatively long excited state decays, within the range 360-393 ns, and quantum yields between 5.4% and 6.7% (from degassed solutions). Temperature-dependent photophysical studies suggest that the emitting excited states of the complexes might be quenched by the thermal population of dark states. In water, the quantum yields drop within the range of 0.5%-2.4%, and the photophysical measurements are influenced by the variable degrees of aggregation. In general, the entire series displayed low cytotoxicity and relatively high photostability, which are favourable attributes in the design of cellular imaging agents. Images of live HeLa cells were obtained for all the complexes, but those functionalised with palmitic and stearic acids had limitations due the lower solubility conferred by the saturated aliphatic chains. The complexes were mainly detected within the endoplasmic reticulum.