Synthesis and characterization of 5-substituted 8-hydroxyquinoline derivatives and their metal complexes

5-Aminomethyl-8-hydroxyquinoline (QN) was synthesized as a scaffold to generate dimers, trimers, and tetramer metalloquinolates. Starting from QN, a series of 5-substituted 8-hydroxyquinoline derivatives conjugated with small bioactive molecules were synthesized. Absorption and emission spectra indicate that these QN derivatives chelate well with metal ions, which may serve as a new platform to explore the applications of metalloquinolates for a variety of potential applications.