Rose Bengal and Non-Polar Derivatives: The Birth of Dye Sensitizers for Photooxidation+

The synthesis of a new rose bengal derivative, 6-O-acetyl rose bengal ethyl ester is reported. The spectral properties of various new rose bengal derivatives are discussed in relation to their structures and compared with results found for the other fluorescein dyes in the literature. A concise historical review of the chemistry of fluorescein dyes and of their current applications is given.