Synthesis of a water soluble red fluorescent dye and its application to living cells imaging

• A water soluble fluorescent dye based on PEGylated dicyanoisophorone derivative is prepared.
• The fluorescent dye shows deep red emission (λem = 669 nm) and a very large Stoke's shift (Δλ = 140 nm) in water.
• The fluorescent dye can be clearly expressed in mitochondria of HeLa cells with high contrast.

A water soluble red fluorescent dye (TD-mPEG750) has been prepared by treatment of 2-(3,5,5-trimethylcyclohex-2-en-1-ylidene)malononitrile with 4-(diethylamino)-2-mPEG benzaldehyde (mPEG-OH, average MW = 750). TD-mPEG750 exhibits red emission at λem = 664 nm in water, a small fluorescence quantum yield (ϕf = 0.01) and a large Stoke's shift (Δλ = 145 nm) are obtained. Using HeLa cells as prototype, the application of TD-mPEG750 to living cells imaging has been investigated. It is found that TD-mPEG750 can be clearly expressed in mitochondria with high contrast in HeLa cells imaging.

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