Engineering NIR dyes for fluorescent lifetime contrast

The excited state of an organic molecule is a crossroads which can lead to many directions, such as non-radiative emission as heat, fluorescence, intersystem crossing and phosphorescence. Due to the unpredictable nature of the excited molecular structure, manipulation of this represents significant challenges for physicists and chemists. However, the successful management of the excited state provides a number of benefits with innumerable applications to fields like photonics and medicine. One such property of the excited state with powerful ramifications in medical diagnostics is fluorescence lifetime.