Photocatalytic synthesis of fluorescent and polarity-sensitive -thiolated diketones for LDs-specific imaging

Fluorophores with easily tunable photophysical properties are highly desirable for bio-imaging. Herein, we develop a photocatalytic method for direct thiolation of beta-diketone compounds with Rose Bengal as the photocatalyst under white light irradiation. The beta-thiolated diketone compounds show a polarity-sensitive fluorescence emission and can be used for lipid droplets (LDs)-specific imaging with a high signal-to-noise ratio. We believe this photocatalytic method for direct preparation of fluorescent and polarity-sensitive beta-thiolated dike -tones is promising for bioimaging applications.