Cyanin-type compounds having an alkynyl linker arm

A cyanine modified with an alkynyl-linker arm, having the following general formula (I), including the valence tautomers thereof:

• wherein
• R1 is a linear, saturated or unsaturated alkyl chain, having from 1 to 30 carbon atoms, wherein one or more carbon atoms are each optionally substituted by a component independently selected from an oxygen or a sulfur atoms, a —NH— or a —CONH— group, or a cyclic 4-, 5- or 6-membered grouping of carbon atoms, aromatic or not aromatic, wherein one or more carbon atoms are each optionally substituted by a heteroatom independently selected from oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen and selenium;
• WI and W2 are independently selected from a benzene ring and a naphthalene ring wherein one or more carbon atoms are optionally substituted by one or more heteroatoms selected from oxygen, sulfur, selenium and nitrogen, or one of W1 and W2 is absent, or both of them are absent;
• X1 and X2 are independently selected from the group consisting of —O—, —S—, —Se—, —C(CH3)2, —NH— and —CH═CH—;
• and R2, R3, R4, R5 and R6 are independently selected from hydrogen, —COOH, —OH, —NO2, —OCH3, —SO3H, —SO3—, and —R8—Y wherein R8 is a linear, saturated or unsaturated alkyl chain, having from 1 to 30 carbon atoms, wherein one or more carbon atoms are each optionally substituted by a component independently selected by an oxygen or a sulfur atom, a —NH— or a —CONH— group, or a cyclic 4-, 5- or 6-membered grouping of carbon atoms, aromatic or not aromatic, wherein one or more carbon atoms are each optionally substituted by a heteroatom independently selected from oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen or selenium, and wherein Y is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, carboxyl, carbonyl, amino, sulphydryl, thiocyanate, isotyocianate, isocyanate, maleimide, hydroxyl, phosphoramidite, glycidyl, imidazolyl, carbamoyl, anhydride, bromoacetamido, chloroacetamido, iodoacetamido, sulphonyl halide, acyl halide, aryl halide, hydrazide, succinimidyl ester, hydroxysulfosuccinimidyl ester, phthalimidyl ester, naphthalimidyl ester, monochlorotriazine, dichlorotriazine, mono- or di-halide substituted pyridine, mono- or di-halide substituted diazine, aziridine, imidic ester, hydrazine, azidonitrophenyl, azide, 3-(2-pyridyldithio)-propionamide, glyoxal, aldehyde, nitrophenyl, dinitrophenyl, trinitrophenyl and —C≡CH, provided that one of R2, R3, R4, R5 and R6 is —R8—Y, with Y being different from H and from —C≡CH;
• M is a counterion;
• and
• Q is a polymethinic chain selected from:
• wherein R7 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, phenoxy, thiophenoxy, anilino, cyclohexylamino, piridine, —R8—Y, —O—R8—Y, —S—R8—Y, —NH—R8—Y, wherein R8 and Y are as defined above, and aryl optionally substituted by one or more substituents independently selected from the group consisting of —SO3H, carboxyl (—COOH), amino (—NH2), carbonyl (—CHO), thiocyanate (—SCN), isothiocyanate (—CNS), epoxy and —COZ wherein Z represents a leaving group.