Improved photon yield from a green dye with a reducing and oxidizing system

An optimized chemistry turns a small green dye into a useful label for single- molecule experiments where steric hin- drance is an issue. Thanks to a reducing and oxidizing system combined to oxygen depletion, a single Bodipy (boron-dipyrromethene) FL fluorophore emits, on average, 20 times more pho- tons around 510 nm (see picture) and its lifetime before photobleaching is in- creased by the same amount, reaching several seconds.