MitoBlue: A nontoxic and photostable blue-emitting dye that selectively labels functional mitochondria

Abstract

We report the discovery of a fluorogenic dye, N1,N3-di(2-aminidonaphthalen-6-yl) propane-1,3-diamine, MitoBlue, which selectively stains functional mitochondria while displaying low toxicity, bright blue emission, and high resistance to photobleaching. Additionally, we show that a biotin-labeled MitoBlue derivative can be used as a handle for the delivery of streptavidin-tagged species to the mitochondria.