Chemical modulation of singlet oxygen generation rates in thermal endoperoxide decomposition & novel fluorescent sensors for hyperphosporylated tau proteins

Abstract

Chemical control over singlet oxygen generation is an open to improvement because of the importance of this reactive species in biological systems. In the first project, we aimed to synthesize a silylated 1,4-dimethylnaphthalene endoperoxide derivative which is expected to release singlet oxygen on thermolysis at a relatively slow rate at room temperature. Upon the deprotection of the silyl units with fluorine ions, it is expected it to release singlet oxygen at a much higher rate, giving rise to a control over the release of the product. The absorption and the fluorescence measurement with a trap molecule which consumes the generated singlet oxygen reveals promising results for the future work for the control of singlet oxygen generation rates. In the second part of this thesis, we focused on the synthesis of a novel fluorescent sensor of a BODIPY derivative which is capable of sensing Zinc cations. The zinc complex is also expected to have a further usage for the sensing of hyperphosphorylated tau proteins, which are commonly produced in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease. With this, it has a potential usage in the field of early detection of Alzheimer’s disease.