Near-infrared fluorescent 9-phenylethynylpyronin analogues for bioimaging

The syntheses and biological applications of two novel fluorescent 9-phenylethynylpyronin analogues containing either carbon or silicon at the position 10 are reported. Both fluorescent probes exhibited a relatively strong fluorescence in methanol and phosphate buffer saline in the near-infrared region (705-738 nm) upon irradiation of either of their absorption maxima in the blue and red regions. The compounds showed high selectivity toward mitochondria in myeloma cells in vivo and allowed their visualization in a favored tissue-transparent window, which makes them promising NIR fluorescent tags for applications in bioimaging.