Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The term polymethine dye (PMD) has been intimately connected to the dinuclear scaffold-two heterocycles linked together by a polymethine chain of varying length. Dinuclear PMDs have been a successful scaffold for noninvasive in vivo imaging in the biologically advantageous near infrared (NIR) and shortwave infrared (SWIR) regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Trinuclear PMDs, resulting from the addition of a third heterocycle into the polymethine chain, possess the same photophysical properties that make dinuclear dyes excellent fluorescent probes, but have yet to be investigated for in vivo imaging. Herein, we expand upon the dinuclear and trinuclear heptamethine dye scaffolds by taking advantage of the increased reactivity of a cyclopentenyl linker and synthesizing flavylium- and chromenylium-based SWIR-emitting fluorophores. The trinuclear scaffold instills the fluorophores with increased steric bulk, leading to beneficial photophysical properties in micelles and outperforming their classic dinuclear counterparts. In this work, we apply trinuclear PMDs for in vivo SWIR imaging in mice and find them to be particularly efficient at lymph node labeling upon intravenous administration.
Authors: Cesar A. Garcia, Eric Y. Lin, Emily B. Mobley, Allen Louie, Kaitlin M. Hartung, Jesus A. Araujo, Ellen M. Sletten
Language: English
Subfield: Materials Chemistry
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $5,510
Awards: Acquisition of Upgraded NMR Instrumentation for Chemistry Research, Education and Training, G1661892572, G2923451624, NMR Console and Prodigy CryoProbe, G401885085, Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), G5035639098, G5643068137, Engineering cyanine aggregation and self-assembly to access exceptionally red-shifted organic chromophores, G9000062136, G9000210093, G910930967
OpenAlex ID: W7129732853