Localization-controlled two-color luminescence imaging via environmental modulation of energy transfer in a multichromophoric species

Dalton Trans. 2018 Mar 26;47(13):4733-4738. doi: 10.1039/c7dt04850e.

Abstract

We prepared a bichromophoric species 1, made of two different bodipy dyes bridged by a d-galactose unit. 1 exhibits different emission spectra when located in different compartments of biological systems, independently of its concentration. This is an unprecedented feature for a single multicomponent molecule and is due to the dependence on the environment of the photoinduced energy transfer process occurring between its bodipy subunits. Therefore, 1 can give useful information about cell composition and ultimately anomalies without requiring the simultaneous use of several different compounds, paving the way for the use of environment-controlled inter-component energy transfer to gain cell information based on luminescence imaging.