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Abstract Next generation chemiluminescent iridium 1,2‐dioxetane complexes have been developed which consist of the Schaap's 1,2‐dioxetane scaffold directly attached to the metal center. This was achieved by synthetically modifying the scaffold precursor with a phenylpyridine moiety, which can act as a ligand. Reaction of this scaffold ligand with the iridium dimer [Ir(BTP)₂(μ‐Cl)]₂(BTP=2‐(benzo[b]thiophen‐2‐yl)pyridine) yielded isomers which depict ligation through either the cyclometalating carbon or, interestingly, the sulfur atom of one BTP ligand. Their corresponding 1,2‐dioxetanes display chemiluminescent responses in buffered solutions, exhibiting a single, red‐shifted peak at 600 nm. This triplet emission was effectively quenched by oxygen, yielding in vitro Stern‐Volmer constants of 0.1 and 0.009 mbar⁻¹for the carbon‐bound and sulfur compound, respectively. Lastly, the sulfur‐bound dioxetane was further utilized for oxygen sensing in muscle tissue of living mice and xenograft models of tumor hypoxia, depicting the ability of the probe chemiluminescence to penetrate biological tissue (total flux ∼10⁶ p/s). 

The viscosity effects on the emission of two 1,2-dioxetanes with high aqueous quantum yields provide empirical evidence for a stepwise mechanism with viscosity-dependent pathways that reduce chemiluminescence emission. 

A near-infrared (NIR) chemiluminescent probe using energy transfer to a silicon rhodamine scaffold has been developed for in vivo imaging applications. 

Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species are small reactive molecules derived from elements in the air─oxygen and nitrogen. They are produced in biological systems to mediate fundamental aspects of cellular signaling but must be very tightly balanced to prevent indiscriminate damage to biological molecules. Small molecule probes can transmute the specific nature of each reactive oxygen and nitrogen species into an observable luminescent signal (or even an acoustic wave) to offer sensitive and selective imaging in living cells and whole animals. This review focuses specifically on small molecule probes for superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, hypochlorite, nitric oxide, and peroxynitrite that provide a luminescent or photoacoustic signal. Important background information on general photophysical phenomena, common probe designs, mechanisms, and imaging modalities will be provided, and then, probes for each analyte will be thoroughly evaluated. A discussion of the successes of the field will be presented, followed by recommendations for improvement and a future outlook of emerging trends. Our objectives are to provide an informative, useful, and thorough field guide to small molecule probes for reactive oxygen and nitrogen species as well as important context to compare the ecosystem of chemistries and molecular scaffolds that has manifested within the field.