A facile ruthenium(II)-catalyzed
regiospecific C–H/O–H
oxidative annulation methodology was developed to construct isochromeno[8,1-ab]phenazines. This methodology delivers various advantages,
such as scope for diverse substrates, tolerance to a range of functional
groups, stability under air, and yields regioselective products. This
methodology was successfully applied to synthesize far red (FR) fluorescent
probes for live cancer cell imaging. The synthesized compounds displayed
notable fluorescence properties in solution and thin-film. Their application
in live cancer cell imaging was investigated using various cancer
cell lines. The synthesized compound showed prominent FR fluorescence,
with high quantum yield, and exhibited better cell-imaging properties,
with excellent biocompatibility.