Spontaneously blinking spiroamide rhodamines for live SMLM imaging of the plasma membrane

Abstract

We have developed spontaneously blinking fluorescent probes based on the reversible spirolactamization of rhodamine, to efficiently image the plasma membrane (PM) of live cells with enhanced resolution using SMLM. This study demonstrates that the blinking efficiency of spiroamide PM probes is not solely governed by their pK_a; the presence of a charged polar group on the amide should also be taken into account.