Using 2-amino-5-nitro-benzoic acid or 4-chloro-benzoic acid and 1-phenyl-2-pyrrolidinone as initial materials, two new blebbistatin compounds, 3a-hydroxy-6-nitro-1-phenyl-1,2,3,3a-tetrahydropyr- rolo[2,3-b]quinolin-4-one and 3a-hydroxy-7-chloro-1-phenyl-1,2,3,3a-tetrahydro-pyrrolo[2,3-b]quinolin- 4-one, were synthesized through four steps, including esterification, imine synthesis, cyclization and asymmetric synthesis. Their structures were confirmed by IR, ¹H NMR techniques and elemental analysis. The single crystals of some important intermediates were determined. Their optical properties were prelimi-narily studied, and it was discovered that the UV-vis absorption and fluorescence emission intensities of the new compounds were higher than the compounds reported previously.

Key words: blebbistatin, synthesis, UV-vis absorption spectra, fluorescence emission spectra