Design and characterization of red fluorogenic push–pull chromophores holding great potential for bioimaging and biosensing

Fluorogenic chromophores have been used recently for fluorescence reporting and biosensing. Their ability to turn on upon specific interaction with a given target has been exploited in particular for the design of fluorogen-based reporters enabling biomolecule labeling and imaging. In this paper, we report the development and exhaustive characterization of a new family of red fluorogenic push-pull chromophores, holding great potential for the development of fluorogen-based reporters or intracellular fluorogenic markers. The proposed methodology is generic and should find general applicability in the discovery of new fluorogenic dyes suitable for the design of fluorogen-based reporters and biosensors.