BODIPY dyes, which are boron difluoride compounds supported by dipyrrinato ligands, have gained recognition as being one of the more versatile fluorophores due to their superior photophysical properties.[1,2] BODIPY derivatives are used as stable functional dyes in several fields such as light harvesters, laser dyes, fluorescent switches, and biomolecular labels.[3-6] They gained popularity as biological probes due to the easy modification of the ligand framework, extension of the chromophore, and substitution of the fluorine atoms.6 Figure 1 shows some commercially available BODIPY dyes used as biological probes.

As I’m sure the readers of this blog know, NMR spectroscopy is used widely across all branches of chemistry due to its powerful structure elucidation capabilities and the inherently quantitative nature of the technique. Organic relies primarily on 1H/13C experiments where as inorganic chemistry can expand to other nuclei, like 31P and 11B. However, there are many other applications for NMR other than just structural elucidation. Perhaps a lesser known application of NMR spectroscopy, is its ability to determine the isotopic ratio of elements! In this blog post I would like to demonstrate a novel method to determine the 10B/11B isotopic ratio using our NMReady-60e and 1H NMR spectra!

As I’m sure the readers of this blog know, NMR spectroscopy is used widely across all branches of chemistry due to its powerful structure elucidation capabilities and the inherently quantitative nature of the technique. Organic relies primarily on 1H/13C experiments where as inorganic chemistry can expand to other nuclei, like 31P and 11B. However, there are many other applications for NMR other than just structural elucidation. Perhaps a lesser known application of NMR spectroscopy, is its ability to determine the isotopic ratio of elements! In this blog post I would like to demonstrate a novel method to determine the 10B/11B isotopic ratio using our NMReady-60e and 1H NMR spectra!

BODIPY dyes, which are boron difluoride compounds supported by dipyrrinato ligands, have gained recognition as being one of the more versatile fluorophores due to their superior photophysical properties.[1,2] BODIPY derivatives are used as stable functional dyes in several fields such as light harvesters, laser dyes, fluorescent switches, and biomolecular labels.[3-6] They gained popularity as biological probes due to the easy modification of the ligand framework, extension of the chromophore, and substitution of the fluorine atoms.6 Figure 1 shows some commercially available BODIPY dyes used as biological probes.

For my first blog I have decided to talk a little bit about boron because it’s a fascinating element that imparts remarkable properties to its compounds. And believe me, there are hundred of different compounds with very different properties containing boron centers. We find boron in compounds like boronic acids (A), boronic esters (B), and MIDA boronates (C), all of which are very popular in Suzuki coupling reactions to make new C–C bonds.  Another popular family of compounds containing boron are the BODIPY dyes (D). These derivatives, composed of a dipyrromethene ligand supporting a BF2 unit, are used as stable functional dyes in several fields, but their application as biomolecular labels is the most investigated by far.