This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: The team, led by professors Simon Lewis and Tony James and Dr. Dan Pantos in the university's Department of Chemistry, has transformed azulene, a naturally occurring blue compound found in certain mushrooms and corals, into a versatile tool for biological imaging and chemical sensing.
Scientists use chemical probes that bind to a specific molecule in the cell and glow different colors under a microscope to observe biological processes and monitor disease. Fluorescent probes consist of two parts: a "receptor" (which detects a particular substance) and a "fluorophore" (a molecule with fluorescent properties). Fluorophores absorb light of a specific wavelength and emit light of a different, typically longer, wavelength, which appears as a color.
It is this colored light that makes them stand out when viewed under a microscope. Their research, published in Organic Chemistry Frontiers, has shown how tweaking the molecular structure of azulene-based fluorescent probes can change the color and brightness of the material, providing a blueprint for the rational design of future probes for disease research and diagnostics. Azulene is the chemical responsible for the striking blue color of species such as the mushroom Lactarius indigo and certain corals and is used in some skin care products to calm irritation.
Azulene can be used as a fluorophore because it absorbs light at one wavelength and emits at a different wavelength. The researchers took advantage of this unusual property to develop the AzuFluor platform, creating a whole family of azulene-based probes capable of visualizing important biological processes. The program aimed to create new tools that could help researchers study diseases including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, cancer and asthma by enabling molecular events inside living cells to be observed in real time.
The first author of the study, postdoctoral researcher Dr. Chiara Faverio, successfully synthesized and analyzed a wide range of new azulene derivatives, allowing the research team to systematically explore how subtle structural changes influence fluorescence color and brightness. The team developed a molecule that was five times brighter than the original azulene molecule, providing a promising candidate for future sensing and imaging applications.
Faverio said, "Fluorescent probes act like molecular beacons, lighting up in response to specific biological targets and allowing researchers to observe processes that would otherwise remain invisible. "Being able to design brighter, more sensitive probes opens up exciting new opportunities for studying cellular changes associated with neurodegenerative diseases, cancer and other serious health conditions." Lewis said, "When we began exploring azulene fluorophores in 2019, we recognized their unusual and exciting potential. "This work reveals the molecular features that control brightness and emission, providing a clear roadmap for designing increasingly powerful probes for sensing and bioimaging applications." Chiara Faverio et al., Synthesis of azulene fluorophores reveals structure–property relationships, Organic Chemistry Frontiers (2026).
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