Improved emission performance of benzo[ a ]phenoxazine in aqueous solution through host-guest interaction.

To evaluate the contribution of host-guest chemistry in fluorescence enhancement under aqueous conditions, two benzo[ a ]phenoxazine derivatives with the adamantyl group were prepared. After they formed stable complexes with methyl-β-cyclodextrin, their emissions at 625-825 nm were greatly increased and fluorescence quantum yields reached 11.5-12.6% in aqueous solution. Furthermore, they were successfully applied in fluorescence labeling of organelles in HeLa cells.