Benz[h]indeno[1,2-b]quinolines: Priority and Potential

This report establishes the historical priority for two pentacyclic compounds — 7-phenyl-8-oxobenz[h]indeno[1,2-b]quinoline (C₂₆H₁₅NO, PubChem CID 122214121) and 7-phenyl-8H-benz[h]indeno[1,2-b]quinoline (C₂₆H₁₇N, PubChem CID 139041383) — first synthesised and characterised by H.B.F. Antaki in J. Chem. Soc. (C), 1967, 1581. Both compounds appear in PubChem without attribution to the 1967 original. The reduced 8H form, which exhibits intense blue fluorescence, has not been revisited since 1967. This Perspective documents the original synthesis, examines modern rediscovery of the scaffold, and proposes a programme for photophysical and biological evaluation of both forms.