Triarylmethane Fluorophores Resistant to Oxidative Photobluing

Abstract

Spectral stability of small-molecule fluorescent probes is required for correct interpretation and reproducibility of multicolor fluorescence imaging data, in particular under high (de)excitation light intensities of super-resolution imaging or in single-molecule applications. We propose a synthetic approach to a series of spectrally stable rhodamine fluorophores based on sequential Ru- and Cu-catalyzed transformations, evaluate their stability against photobleaching and photoconversion in the context of other fluorophores using chemometric analysis, and demonstrate chemical reactivity of fluorophore photoproducts. The substitution patterns providing the photoconversion-resistant triarylmethane fluorophores have been identified, and the applicability of nonbluing labels in live-cell STED nanoscopy is demonstrated.