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Near-Infrared Dyes
Near-Infrared Dyes
Our laboratory is developing new NIR dyes for applications in imaging and sensing. These scaffolds are being used to develop reagents for fluorescence-guided surgery, deep tissue imaging, and molecular imaging.
Targeted Drug Delivery
Targeted Drug Delivery
We are developing functional molecules that can sense the altered biochemistry of diseased cells and release cytotoxic compounds. Concurrent production of a NIR dye enables imaging of compound delivery.
Dissecting Cellular Communication
Dissecting Cellular Communication
Our group is designing new methods to control as well as measure the activity of signaling enzymes within living cells. These approaches provide fundamental insights into human disease.

Meet the Group

From left to right: (back row) Hunter Blosser, Jerimiah Moore, Alikhan Nurkhaidarov, Finn Davis, Harry Shield, Benjamin Faulkner, Daniel Sitrin, Cliff Stains, and Indraneel Ghosh (Prof. Emeritus Univ. of AZ, a.k.a. Science Grandpa); (front row) Gabriella Amina Watson, Jake Cherkis, Miranda Wood, Rachel Weatherford, Reilly O'Brien, Abby Bowe, Julia McAfee, Megan Garris, Yuan Fang, & Linda Ziamanesh. Not pictured: George Danes, Emily Hocutt, & Madeline Loht.

Research

We seek to improve human health by developing new probes for disease processes as well as targeted therapeutics:

 

 

Selected Publications

  • Brøndsted, F.; McAfee, J.L.; Moore, J.D.; Shield, H.R.; Menozzi, L.; Zhou, X.; Fang, Y.; Yin, R.; Yao, J.; Kubelick, K.P. & Stains, C.I. Acoustic loudness factor as an experimental parameter for benchmarking small molecule photoacoustic probes. Nat. Commun. 16, 3779 (2025). [Link]
  • He, Y.; Faulkner, B.M.; Roberti, M.A.; Bassford, D.K. & Stains, C.I. Standardized Parts for Activation of Small GTPase Signaling in Living Cells. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 63, e202403499 (2024). [Link]
  • Fang, Y.*; Zhou, X.*; McAfee, J.L.; Faulkner, B.M.; Lesiak, L.; He, Y.; Brøndsted, F.; Fan, H.; Donarski, E.D.; Hu, X.; Venton, B.J.; Grant, S.; Garrett-Bakelman, F.E. & Stains, C.I. Hypochlorous Acid-Gated Hydrolysis of a Phosphinate Ester Dye in Living Cells. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 147, 40590-40602 (2025). *These authors contributed equally to this work. [Link]