Central to major advances in biochemical assays, molecular sensor technologies, and molecular optical imaging are fluorescent materials that provide high detection sensitivity for molecular processes. In biological optical imaging, the low tissue autofluorescence and the deep penetration of light into the tissues observed at wavelengths between 650 and 900 nm allow the use of near-infrared (NIR...

A novel near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probe based on cyanine dyes was designed and synthesized to detect nitroreductase (NTR) activity. Upon reaction with NTR, the nitro-group of p-nitrobenzyl moiety was reduced to amino-group and therefore renews the π-electron conjugation of the dye, resulting in the intense NIR fluorescent emission (708 nm). This redox-induced NIR-fluorescence probe has be...

A new NIR fluorescent sensor based on an amine-substituted heptamethine cyanine dye displayed a highly selective fluorescence enhancement with cyanide in aqueous solutions, and was applied for the imaging of anthropogenic and biogenic cyanide.

PURPOSE The aim of the present study was to develop nanoprobes with theranostic features, including - at the same time - photoacoustic, near-infrared (NIR) optical imaging, and photothermal properties, in a versatile and stable core-shell silica-polyethylene glycol (PEG) nanoparticle architecture. MATERIALS AND METHODS We synthesized core-shell silica-PEG nanoparticles by a one-pot direct mic...

Two nucleic acid building blocks were synthesized, consisting of two photostable green- and red-emitting cyanine-styryl dyes and (S)-3-amino-1,2-propanediol as a substitute for the ribofuranoside, and incorporated as base-pair surrogates by using automated phosphoramidte chemistry in the solid phase. The optical properties and, in particular, the energy-transfer properties were screened in a ra...

Cy3 and Cy5 are among the most commonly used oligonucleotide labeling molecules. Studies of nucleic acid structure and dynamics use these dyes, and they are ubiquitous in microarray experiments. They are sensitive to their environment and have higher quantum yield when bound to DNA. The fluorescent intensity of terminal cyanine dyes is also known to be significantly dependent on the base sequen...

Novel asymmetric monomeric monomethine cyanine dyes 5a-d, which are analogues of the commercial dsDNA fluorescence binder thiazole orange (TO), have been synthesized. The synthesis was achieved by using a simple, efficient and environmetally benign synthetic procedure to obtain these cationic dyes in good to excellent yields. Interactions of the new derivatives of TO with dsDNA have been invest...

Expression analysis for the quantitative gene expression of many genes can be performed using either oneor two-colour fluorescent schemes. One-colour analysis is primarily used for arrays prepared by photolithography. Affymetrix ( http://www.affymetrix.com ) patented this process under the trade name GeneChipTM (Fodor, S.P.A. et al., 1995 ).In this method, expression profiles for each sample ar...