cyanine
Sign in to saveAlso known as cyanine dye
Cyanines, also referred to as tetramethylindo(di)-carbocyanines are a synthetic dye family belonging to the polymethine group. Although the name derives etymologically from terms for shades of blue, the cyanine family covers the electromagnetic spectrum from near IR to UV.
~9 min read
Encyclopedic overview
12 sectionsContents
- Structure
- History and use in industry
- Use in biotechnology
- Common cyanine dyes and their uses
- Nomenclature and structure
- Alternatives
- Applications
- Nucleic acid labeling
- Protein labeling
- Etymology
- References
- External links
Cyanines, also referred to as tetramethylindo(di)-carbocyanines are a synthetic dye family belonging to the polymethine group. Although the name derives etymologically from terms for shades of blue, the cyanine family covers the electromagnetic spectrum from near IR to UV.
Chemically, cyanines are a conjugated system between two nitrogen atoms; in each resonance structure, exactly one nitrogen atom is oxidized to an iminium. Typically, they form part of a nitrogenous heterocyclic system.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “cyanine” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.