1,1′-{[3,5-Bis(dodecyloxycarbonyl)-4-(naphthalen-2-yl)-1,4-dihydropyridine-2,6-diyl]bis(methylene)}bis{4-[(E)-2-(naphthalen-2-yl)vinyl]pyridin-1-ium}dibromide

Synthesis of a double-charged cationic amphiphilic 1,4-dihydropyridine derivative with dodecyl ester groups at positions 3 and 5 of the 1,4-DHP ring was performed starting from Hantzsch type cyclization of dodecyl acetoacetate, 2-naphthaldehyde and ammonium acetate. Bromination of this compound followed by nucleophilic substitution of bromine with (E)-4-(2-(naphthalen-2-yl)vinyl)pyridine gave the desired cationic amphiphilic 1,1′-{[3,5-bis(dodecyloxycarbonyl)-4-(naphthalen-2-yl)-1,4-dihydropyridine-2,6-diyl]bis(methylene)}bis{4-[(E)-2-(naphthalen-2-yl)vinyl]pyridin-1-ium}dibromide. The obtained target compound was fully characterized by IR, UV, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, HRMS and microanalysis. The characterization of the cationic 1,4-DHP nanoparticles in an aqueous solution was performed by DLS measurements. The obtained results showed that the compound formed nanoparticles with an average diameter of around 300 nm, a PDI value of around 490 and a zeta-potential of around 20 mV for freshly prepared samples. However, after one week of storage at room temperature, an aggregation of nanoparticles was detected.