Modified Organic fluorescent Dyes: Design and synthesis of functional fluorescent dyes bearing excellent photophysical properties including large Stokes Shift, long wavelength, high brightness and optically tunable group.

Probe Design an imaging application: Design and synthesis of activatable imaging probes for enzymatic activity or small molecules to study of drug metabolism and drug-induced toxicity.

Selected Publications:

1.         D. Cheng, J. Peng, Y. Lv, D. Su, D. Liu, M. Chen, L. Yuan*, X. Zhang. De Novo Design of Chemical Stability Near-infrared Molecular Probes for High-fidelity Hepatotoxicity Evaluation in Vivo. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2019, 141, 6352−6361. 

2.         T. Ren, W. Xu, Q. Zhang, X. Zhang, S. Wen, H. Yi, L. Yuan*, X. Zhang. Enhancing the Anti-Solvatochromic Two-Photon Fluorescence for Cirrhosis Imaging by Forming a Hydrogen-Bond Network. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2018, 57(25), 7473-7477.

3.          T. Ren, W. Xu, W. Zhang, X. Zhang, Z. Wang, Z. Xiang, L. Yuan*, X. Zhang. A General Method to Increase Stokes Shift by Introducing Alternating Vibronic Structures. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2018,  140 (24), 7716–7722.

4.         D. Cheng, Y. Pan, L. Wang, Z. Zeng, L. Yuan*, X. Zhang, Y.-T. Chang. Selective Visualization of the Endogenous Peroxynitrite in an Inflamed Mouse Model by a Mitochondria-Targetable Two-Photon Ratiometric Fluorescent Probe. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2017, 139, 285-292.

5.         W. Xu, Z. Zeng, J.-H. Jiang*, Y.-T.Chang*, L. Yuan*. Discerning the Chemistry in Individual Organelles with Small Molecule Fluorescent Probes. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2016, 55, 13658-13699.