Controlling Intramolecular Rotation with Five-Membered Heterocycles Facilitates the Design of Highly Cell-Permeable Xanthene-Based Fluorogenic Probes.

ABSTRACT: Fluorogenic probes are invaluable tools in biology and medicine, offering high sensitivity and background-free imaging. However, achieving a high signal-to-noise ratio, target specificity, and robust cell permeability in wash-free imaging remains a significant challenge. Here, we report a new class of fluorogenic fluorophores engineered by incorporating five-membered heterocycles such as furan or thiophene at 9-position of the xanthene core. This structural modification enables precise control over intramolecular rotation, which is suppressed in viscous environments or upon interaction with biomolecular targets to allow for fluorescence activation independent of the spirolactone equilibrium characteristic of traditional rhodamine fluorophores. This rotation-based activation strategy was fu

SUBMITTER: Reja SI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12766722 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature