Our latest discovery: fluorescent molecules that light up in water and help us visualize our cells more clearly

In collaboration with the Biomimetic Dendrimers and Photonics Laboratory at IBIMA Plataforma BIONAND, we have achieved a breakthrough that brings together materials science and biomedicine. We have developed a new family of fluorescent molecules with promising applications in the study of living cells and in the medicine of the future.

The findings have been published in Advanced Materials, one of the world’s most influential scientific journals, which features contributions from internationally leading research groups. In this case, the article forms part of a special issue bringing together some of the most active teams in Spain in the field of advanced materials, placing Málaga at the forefront of cutting-edge research.

We have created a new family of fluorescent molecules that display a remarkably unusual behaviour. Typically, molecules of this kind tend to lose part of their fluorescence intensity or shift towards duller colours when dissolved in water or other biological media. These new molecules, however, do exactly the opposite: they emit more intense fluorescence while their colour shifts towards the blue region of the light spectrum.

This behaviour is “counterintuitive”, and it is particularly important because it means that these fluorescent dyes perform better in aqueous environments such as the interior of a cell, which is essential for biomedical applications. In other words, they do not fade when they are needed most; instead, they maintain — and can even enhance — their brightness under real operating conditions.

These new dyes make it possible to “photograph” the inside of cells with great precision and without damaging them, thanks to a technique known as multiphoton microscopy. This method can penetrate deeper into living tissues, producing clearer images while minimizing damage to biological samples.

One of their most remarkable features is their ability to selectively label mitochondria, often described as the “powerhouses of the cell”. Mitochondria are responsible for supplying the energy required for life and play a key role in diseases such as cancer and neurodegenerative disorders.

Experiments showed that the new molecules provide image quality comparable to that of existing fluorescent probes, while offering a decisive advantage: they are easier and more cost-effective to produce. This opens the door to more accessible diagnostic tools for studying essential cellular processes and, in the future, could contribute to improving the early detection of disease.