麻豆淫院

A team of researchers at the Departments of 麻豆淫院ical Chemistry and Organic Chemistry of the University of Malaga and The Biomimetic Dendrimers and Photonic Laboratory of the research institute IBIMA Plataforma BIONAND has achieved a breakthrough that combines materials science and biomedicine. They have developed a new family of fluorescent molecules with promising applications in the study of living cells and the medicine of the future. The study has just been in Advanced Materials.

The team of researchers has created a new family of fluorescent molecules that glow in a surprising way. These types of molecules typically lose part of their intensity or change to more dull colors when dissolved in water or other biological media. However, these new molecules do just the opposite: They emit a higher fluorescence intensity because their coloration shifts to the blue region of the light spectrum.

This behavior, which scientists described as "counterintuitive," is key because it means that dyes work better in aqueous media like the inside of a cell, something essential for biomedical applications. In other words, they do not turn off when they are needed most but rather maintain鈥攁nd even enhance鈥攖heir brightness in real conditions of use.

This breakthrough takes on a real meaning when applied to biomedicine. These new dyes allow researchers to "photograph" the inside of the cells with great precision and without damaging them, thanks to a technique called multiphoton microscopy. This method enables deeper penetration into living tissues, obtaining clearer and safer images.

The most striking thing is their ability to selectively mark mitochondria, the well-known powerhouses of cells, responsible for supplying the energy required for life, playing a key role in diseases such as cancer or neurodegenerative pathologies.

The experiments showed that these new molecules offer images of a quality comparable to that of fluorescence, but with a decisive advantage: They are easier and cheaper to produce. This opens the door to more accessible diagnostic tools to study essential cellular processes and, in the future, improve early detection of diseases.

The study was conducted by Jos茅 Manuel Mar铆n Beloqui, Juan T. L贸pez Navarrete and Juan Casado Cord贸n, all researchers at the Faculty of Science, together with scientists from the Biomimetic Dendrimer and Photonics Laboratory of IBIMA Plataforma BIONAND, and directed by Ezequiel P茅rez-Inestrosa, along with Carlos Ben铆tez Mart铆n and Francisco N谩jera Albend铆n.

"These results are tremendously encouraging," said UMA Professors P茅rez-Inestrosa and Casado. "Not only do these molecules challenge an established rule in fluorescent chemistry, but they also open the door to new tools for studying diseases where mitochondrial function is key. It is an example of what is achieved when fundamental chemistry meets research applied to biomedicine."