Method for tagging thermoplastic materials with near infrared fluorophores

A compound of Formulae II:

• ##STR41## wherein Pc represents the phthalocyanine moiety of Formula IIa, ##STR42## covalently bonded to AlOR.sub.5, wherein R.sub.5 is selected from aryl groups substituted by at least one polyester reactive group selected from hydroxy, carboxy or an ester radical having the formulae
• --OCOR.sub.14, --OCO.sub.2 R.sub.14, --OCONHR.sub.14 or --CO.sub.2 R.sub.14,
• wherein R.sub.14 is selected from unsubstituted or substituted alkyl, cycloalkyl or aryl radicals;
• X is selected from oxygen, sulfur, or N--R.sub.10, wherein R.sub.10 is hydrogen, cycloalkyl, alkyl, acyl, alkylsulfonyl, or aryl or R.sub.10 and R taken together to form a six-membered saturated or unsaturated heterocyclic ring with the nitrogen atom to which they are attached;
• Y is selected from alkyl, aryl, heteroaryl, halogen or hydrogen;
• R is selected from hydrogen, unsubstituted or substituted alkyl, acyl, alkenyl, alkynyl,
• C.sub.3 -C.sub.8 cycloalkyl, aryl, heteroaryl, alkylene ##STR43## --(X--R).sub.m is one or more groups selected from alkylsulfonylamino, arylsulfonylamino, or a group selected from the formulae --X(C.sub.2 H.sub.4 O).sub.z R, ##STR44## wherein R.sub.7, R.sub.8, and R.sub.9 are independently selected from alkyl, phenyl or phenyl substituted with lower alkyl, lower alkoxy or halogen;
• wherein R is as defined above;
• Z is an integer of from 1-4;
• two --(X--R).sub.m groups can be taken together to form divalent substituents of the formula ##STR45## wherein each X.sup.1 is independently selected from --O--, --S--, or --N-- R.sub.10 and A is selected from ethylene;
• propylene;
• trimethylene;
• and said groups substituted with C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkoxy, aryl and cycloalkyl;
• or 1,2-phenylene and 1,2-phenylene containing 1-3 substituents selected from C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkoxy or halogen;
• n is an integer from 0-16;
• m is an integer from 0-16;
• provided that the sums of n+m is 16.