Electronic tuning of self-healing fluorophores for live-cell and single-molecule imaging.

ABSTRACT: Bright, long-lasting organic fluorophores enable a broad range of imaging applications. "Self-healing" fluorophores, in which intra-molecularly linked protective agents quench photo-induced reactive species, exhibit both enhanced photostability and biological compatibility. However, the self-healing strategy has yet to achieve its predicted potential, particularly in the presence of ambient oxygen where live-cell imaging studies must often be performed. To identify key bottlenecks in this technology that can be used to guide further engineering developments, we synthesized a series of Cy5 derivatives linked to the protective agent cyclooctatetraene (COT) and examined the photophysical mechanisms curtailing their performance. The data obtained reveal that the photostability of self-healing

SUBMITTER: Zheng Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5299821 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature