Modern Synthetic Avenues for the Preparation of Functional Fluorophores

Biomedical research relies on the fast and accurate profiling of specific biomolecules and cells in a non-invasive manner. Functional fluorophores have consolidated as powerful tools for such studies. Since these sophisticated structures are difficult to access through conventional synthetic strategies, novel chemical processes have been developed in the last years. In this Minireview we describe the most recent advances in the design, preparation and fine-tuning of fluorophores by means of multicomponent reactions, C-H activation processes, cycloadditions and biomolecule-based chemical transformations.