Fluorescent flippers are small-molecule probes to visualize physical forces in biology. They are conceived as planarizable push-pull probes that change their color like lobsters during cooking. This project has been initiated 2010 and has stimulated many fruitful collaborations across disciplines, particularly with the group of Aurelien Roux. The first operational Flipper-TR^® probes have been commercialized 2018 thanks to a close collaboration with Spirochrome. Flipper probes respond to a fundamental need in the life sciences waiting for solutions from chemistry, and it is very satisfying see that and how fundamental principles from supramolecular chemistry provide a solution, enabling great science worldwide.

Recommended reading:

Chen, X.-X.; Bayard, F.; Gonzalez-Sanchis, N.; Pamungkas, K. K. P.; Sakai, N.; Matile, S. “Fluorescent Flippers: Small-Molecule Probes to Image Membrane Tension in Living Systems,” Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023, 62, e202217868 (review).

Saidjalolov, S.; Chen, X.-X.; Moreno, J.; Cognet, M.; Wong-Dilworth, L.; Bottanelli, F.; Sakai, N.; Matile, S. “Asparagusic Golgi Trackers,” JACS Au, in press.

Assies, L.; García-Calvo, J.; Piazzolla, F.; Sanchez, S.; Kato, T.; Reymond, L.; Goujon, A.; Colom, A.; López-Andarias, J.; Straková, K.; Mahecic, D.; Mercier, V.; Riggi, M.; Jiménez-Rojo, N.; Roffay, C.; Licari, G.; Tsemperouli, M.; Neuhaus, F.; Fürstenberg, A.; Vauthey, E.; Hoogendoorn, S.; Gonzalez-Gaitan, M.; Zumbuehl, A.; Sugihara, K.; Gruenberg, J.; Riezman, H.; Loewith, R.; Manley, S.; Roux, A.; Winssinger, N.; Sakai, N.; Pitsch, S.; Matile, S. “Flipper Probes for the Community,” Chimia 2021, 75, 1004–1011 (review).

Fin, A.; Vargas Jentzsch, A.; Sakai, N.; Matile, S. “Oligothiophene Amphiphiles as Planarizable and Polarizable Fluorescent Membrane Probes,” Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2012, 51, 12736–12739.

A superb flipper video by Margot Riggi