Photoswitchable Fluorescence of Peptide-Based Hemipiperazines Inside of Living Cells.

ABSTRACT: Photoswitchable fluorophores that can be toggled with visible light are extremely useful for applications in super-resolution imaging. However, most small-molecule photoswitches suffer from poor aqueous solubility and limited biocompatibility and require UV-light activation. Here, we report a novel class of biocompatible, visible-light-responsive fluorophores based on hemipiperazine (HPI) scaffolds with annulated π-systems─indolo-hemipiperazines (IndHPIs) and pyrrolo-hemipiperazines (PyrHPIs). These compounds display large Stokes shifts (up to 135 nm), reversible photoisomerization with up to 620 nm wavelength of light, and, in particular examples, enhanced fluorescence quantum yields and switching thereof, augmented by internal H-bonding. Selected compounds demonstrated excellent thermal

SUBMITTER: Godtel P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12314918 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature