Emergence through delicate balance between the steric factor and molecular orientation: a highly bright and photostable DNA marker for real-time monitoring of cell growth dynamics.

Due to its remarkable structural and optical stability in biological milieu, a newly developed small molecule based DNA marker with high brightness (Φ = 0.51, brightness = 26 300 M-1 cm-1) and almost zero toxicity has been explored. For the first time to our knowledge, this approach has provided real-time monitoring of growth and reproductive potency of living cells beyond nine days.