A new class of
boron-dipyrromethene (BDP or BODIPY) dyes was o
btained
by phenanthrene fusion to the
beta2.gif" BORDER=0 ALIGN="middle">-pyrrole positions, a
bsor
bing inthe wavelength range of important laser sources. Despite a 'propeller-like' distorted structure in the crystalline state, the chromophore a
bsor
bs(log
5) and fluoresces (
f 0.8) strongly and can
be easily turned into a fluorescence light-up pro
be. Incorporation into latex
beadsproduces
bright and photosta
ble single-dye and Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) particles for microscopy applications.