Yang, S.K. et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 133, 9964–9967 (2011).

Perylene tetracarboxylic acid diimides (perylenediimides, PDIs) are stable fluorophores with high quantum yields, making them promising for single-molecule studies. To make these compounds water-soluble for use in biological experiments, Yang et al. report encapsulating PDIs in polyglycerol dendrons. They also introduced a single azide group as a 'click' chemistry handle. The resulting PDI-cored dendrimers were used in labeling proteins on the surface of live bacterial and mammalian cells.