Octa-BODIPY dye for monitoring live cell parameters using fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy

Monitoring of various parameters inside living cells allows to get deeper into understanding of mechanisms of their functioning in normal and pathological states. Currently, various fluorescent dyes are actively used for this purpose. Fluorophores sensitive to various intracellular analytes and cell parameters are of particular interest since they allow monitoring intracellular changes in real time. In the present work, we have evaluated the potential applicability of a multichromophore compound consisting of eight BODIPY chromophores linked via an aliphatic spacer to a siloxane core to monitor membrane parameters in living eukaryotic cells. This compound exhibits significant solvatochromism due to intramolecular chromophore interactions. Environmental parameters significantly affect the fluorescence properties of the dye and, in particular, the fluorescence lifetime. This allowed us to use it for monitoring the parameters of cell membrane structures by fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM).