Organic dyes in contemporary medicinal chemistry and biomedicine. I. From the chromophore to the bioimaging/bioassay agent

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The present review was provoked by the demand of a comprehensive overview on the recent scientific achievements revealing new horizons for advanced applications of organic dyes in service of contemporary medicinal chemistry, pharmacy and biomedicine. The review outlines the basic structural characteristics, physicochemical properties and biological activity of various dye families and suggests modified classifications of dyes according to their structural moieties and bioorganic functionalities serving the necessities of modern analytical chemistry and biochemistry. A major part of the review focuses on the pros and cons of the use of dyes as vectors in bioanalytic assays. The latter is based on comparative analyses of the limitations of some widely applied classical methodologies vs. the advantages and outcomes of the application of newly-designed dye molecules in modern dye-based bioassay techniques.