Nature-Inspired Functional Chromophores from Biomimetic o-Quinone Chemistry

A concise highlight of the main types of chromophoric systems obtained in the authors’ and other laboratories through biomimetic chemistry or synthetic manipulation of nature-inspired o-quinones is the primary focus of this Minireview. Following oxidative conversion of a variety of natural catechol substrates like DOPA, dopamine, 5-S-cysteinyldopa and caffeic acid, in the presence of suitable additives, a remarkable variety of chromophoric systems can be produced, which display specific optical and electronic properties, e. g. acidichromism, solvatochromism or strong emission upon excitation. Such properties can be tailored for specific applications through rational synthetic manipulations and/or fine-tuning through non-covalent and supramolecular interactions. Practical access routes to the reported o-quinone-derived chromophoric systems are illustrated along with the main prospective applications