title: Teaching Old Dyes New Tricks: Biological Probes Built from Fluoresceins and Rhodamines.
abstract: Small-molecule fluorophores, such as fluorescein and rhodamine derivatives, are critical tools in modern biochemical and biological research. The field of chemical dyes is old; colored molecules were first discovered in the 1800s, and the fluorescein and rhodamine scaffolds have been known for over a century. Nevertheless, there has been a renaissance in using these dyes to create tools for biochemistry and biology. The application of modern chemistry, biochemistry, molecular genetics, and optical physics to these old structures enables and drives the development of novel, sophisticated fluorescent dyes. This critical review focuses on an important example of chemical biology-the melding of old and new chemical knowledge-leading to useful molecules for advanced biochemical and biological experiments.
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, Virginia 20147; email: lavisl@janelia.hhmi.org.
authors.forename: Luke D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Lavis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism; D060326:Chemistry Techniques, Synthetic; D005452:Fluoresceins / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000266:history / Q000378:metabolism; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000266:history / Q000378:metabolism; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D015335:Molecular Probes / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000266:history / Q000378:metabolism; D019920:Photoaffinity Labels / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000266:history / Q000378:metabolism; D012235:Rhodamines / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000266:history / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D005452:Fluoresceins; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D015335:Molecular Probes; D019920:Photoaffinity Labels; D012235:Rhodamines
keywords: chemistry; fluorescein; fluorophore; microscopy; rhodamine