Nucleophilic polysubstituted aryl acridinium esters and uses thereof

An acridinium ester of the formula:

• ##STR18## wherein R.sub.1 is CH.sub.2 A, where C is a carbon atom and where A is hydrogen, alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, aralkyl, or aryl, with R.sub.1 having up to 24 carbons and up to 20 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorous and sulfur no more than one Nitrogen, Oxygen or Sulfur being in the ar part of ar alkyl, or in aryl;
• R.sub.2, R.sub.3, R.sub.5 and R.sub.7 are hydrogen, amino, alkoxyl hydroxyl, --COOH, halide, nitro, --CN, --SO.sub.3 H, ##STR19## or --SCN, wherein R is alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, aralkyl, or aryl, having up to 24 carbons and up to 20 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorous and sulfur no more than one Nitrogen, Oxygen or Sulfur being in the ar part of ar alkyl, or in aryl;
• R.sub.4 and R.sub.8 are alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, aralkyl, or alkoxyl having up to 8 carbons, with no branching wherein the side-chain groups have more than 2 carbons;
• X is an anion;
• R.sub.6 is Q--R--Nu or ##STR20## or Q--Nu wherein R is defined as above;
• Q is ##STR21## --O--, --S--, or --N--;
• I is selected from the group consisting of --SO.sub.3 H, --OSO.sub.3 H, --PO(OH).sub.2, --COOH or --OPO(OH).sub.2 ;
• and Nu is a nucleophilic group selected from the group consisting of amino, hydroxyl, sulfhydryl, organic metallic moiety, or an active methylene group adjacent to a strong electron-withdrawing group;
• such electron-withdrawing groups consisting of --NO.sub.2, --CN, --SO.sub.3 H, --N(R).sub.3.sup.+, and --S(R).sub.3.sup.+, wherein R is as defined above;
• and such organic metallic moieties consisting of Grignard reagents, lithium compounds and phenylsodium.