The front cover of this issue of MedChemComm highlights the work of Philip J. Johnson, Mikhail Y. Berezin and colleagues. As part of the long term goal of developing nerve specific near infrared (NIR) molecular probes capable of non-invasively assessing peripheral nerve damage, in this concise article Berezin et al. present a study on the identification of a NIR dye suitable for such probes, focusing on a novel highly hydrophilic and functionalisable polymethine dye, and its more hydrophobic analogue indocyanine green.
A NIR dye for development of peripheral nerve targeted probes
Tiffany P. Gustafson, Ying Yan, Piyaraj Newton, Daniel A. Hunter, Samuel Achilefu, Walter J. Akers, Susan E. Mackinnon, Philip J. Johnson and Mikhail Y. Berezin
DOI: 10.1039/C2MD00297C
Also in this issue is the review by Georges Vauquelin on:
Determination of drug–receptor residence times by radioligand binding and functional assays: experimental strategies and physiological relevance
DOI: 10.1039/C2MD20015E
