Quinones are privileged chemical structures playing crucial roles as redox and alkylating agents in a wide range of processes in cells. The broad functional array of quinones has prompted the development of new chemical approaches, including C–H bond activation and asymmetric reactions, to generate probes for examining their activity by means of fluorescence imaging. This tutorial review covers recent advances in the design, synthesis and applications of quinone-based fluorescent agents for visualizing specific processes in multiple biological systems, from cells to tissues and complex organisms in vivo.

C–H oxygenation of quinones by weak O-coordination was achieved by versatile ruthenium(ii) catalysis with ample substrate scope and trypanocidal compounds were also identified.