A rational design of squaraine dyes with lipophilic and zwitterionic groups tunes cell entry, allowing for selective far-red/near-infrared imaging of plasma membrane vs. endoplasmic reticulum. They exhibit up to 110-fold fluorescence enhancement in biomembranes and enable cellular imaging at 1 nM concentration, which make them the brightest membrane probes to date.

The DNA-enabled dimerization of pentamethine cyanine (Cy5) dyes was studied by optical methods. The value of cyanine as a chiroptical reporter using a monomer-to-dimer switch is demonstrated. The specific shape of the CD signal and its high intensity are a result of J-type assembly.