Tryptophan as a Template for Development of Visible Fluorescent Amino Acids

Most biological systems, at both molecular and cellular levels, are intrinsically complex, diverse, and non-fluorescent. Therefore, studying their structures, dynamics, and interactions via fluorescence-based methods requires incorporation of one or multiple external fluorophores that would not significantly affect any native property of the system in question. This requirement necessitates the development of a diverse set of fluorescence reporters that differ in chemical, physical, and photophysical properties. Herein, we offer our perspective on the need for, recent progress in, and future directions of developing tryptophan-based fluorescent amino acids.