Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 4, 2026

Conventional BODIPY Conjugates for Live-Cell Super-Resolution Microscopy and Single-Molecule Tracking
Published on: June 8, 2020
Far-Red Photoactivatable BODIPYs for the Super-Resolution Imaging of Live Cells
Yang Zhang1, Ki-Hee Song, Sicheng Tang1
1Laboratory for Molecular Photonics, Department of Chemistry , University of Miami , 1301 Memorial Drive , Coral Gables , Florida 33146-0431 , United States.
Abstract:
The photoinduced disconnection of an oxazine heterocycle from a borondipyrromethene (BODIPY) chromophore activates bright far-red fluorescence. The high brightness of the product and the lack of autofluorescence in this spectral region allow its detection at the single-molecule level within the organelles of live cells. Indeed, these photoactivatable fluorophores localize in lysosomal compartments and remain covalently immobilized within these organelles. The suppression of diffusion allows the reiterative reconstruction of subdiffraction images and the visualization of the labeled organelles with excellent localization precision. Thus, the combination of photochemical, photophysical and structural properties designed into our fluorophores enable the visualization of live cells with a spatial resolution that is inaccessible to conventional fluorescence imaging.
Related Concept Videos
Super-resolution Fluorescence Microscopy
Red Algae
Protein Dynamics in Living Cells
Fluorescent recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) is a fluorescent-protein-based detection technique used to quantify protein movement rates within the cell. This method exposes a small portion of the cell to an intense laser beam. The laser beam causes permanent photobleaching of the fluorophore-tagged proteins in the exposed region. As the bleached...
Chromatographic Resolution
The effectiveness of separation can be evaluated by determining the level of separation between two neighboring peaks in a chromatogram, which represents the individual components of a sample.
In chromatography,...
Racemic Mixtures and the Resolution of Enantiomers
High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS)

