Unsymmetrical methine and polymethine dye-molecules for fluorescent intracellular applications

摘要

A new class of alpha-cyanomethine and alpha-cyanopolymethine dyes is provided having moieties which serve for the covalent attachment to biological substrates and resulting in the fluorescent labeling of the substrates. The labeled substrates are useful in analytical techniques for the detection and measurement of biological and clinical compounds of interest. Of particular interest is a class of methine molecules which are non-fluorescent in buffer solutions but intensely fluoresce when they enter a cell.