Invited reviewA review of fluorescent ligands for studying 5-HT3 receptors

•A review of fluorescent ligands and their uses in the study of 5-HT3 receptors.•Considerations for the synthesis of 5-HT3 receptor fluorescent ligands.•Applications of fluorescent ligands in 5-HT3 receptor pharmacology and imaging.

The use of fluorescence is a valuable and increasingly accessible means of probing the pharmacology and physiology of cells and their receptors. To date, the use of fluorescence-based methods for 5-HT3 receptor research has been quite limited and, although a variety of approaches have been described, these are broadly distributed throughout the literature. In this review we condense these findings into a single, accessible source of reference with the hope of promoting the use of these valuable molecular probes.This article is part of the Special Issue entitled 'Fluorescent Tools in Neuropharmacology'.