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Updated: May 2, 2026

Free Radicals in Chemical Biology: from Chemical Behavior to Biomarker Development
Published on: April 15, 2013
Bright building blocks for chemical biology
Luke D Lavis1, Ronald T Raines
1Janelia Farm Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute , Ashburn, Virginia 20147, United States.
Abstract:
Small-molecule fluorophores manifest the ability of chemistry to solve problems in biology. As we noted in a previous review (Lavis, L. D.; Raines, R. T. ACS Chem. Biol. 2008, 3, 142-155), the extant collection of fluorescent probes is built on a modest set of "core" scaffolds that evolved during a century of academic and industrial research. Here, we survey traditional and modern synthetic routes to small-molecule fluorophores and highlight recent biological insights attained with customized fluorescent probes. Our intent is to inspire the design and creation of new high-precision tools that empower chemical biologists.
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