Naphth[1,2-]imidazoles Bioactive from β-Lapachone: Fluorescent Probes and Cytotoxic Agents to Cancer Cells.

Theranostics combines therapeutic and imaging diagnostic techniques that are extremely dependent on the action of imaging agent, transporter of therapeutic molecules, and specific target ligand, in which fluorescent probes can act as diagnostic agents. In particular, naphthoimidazoles are potential bioactive heterocycle compounds to be used in several biomedical applications. With this aim, a group of seven naphth[1,2-]imidazole compounds were synthesized from β-lapachone.