Fundamentals in the chemistry of cyanine dyes: A review

In this review paper, some of the important fundamentals in the chemistry of cyanine dyes were explained. This include topics like structure and resonance forms of cyanine dyes, naturally occurring cyanine dyes, different classes of cyanine dyes and formation mechanisms of cyanine dyes. This covers methine cyanine dyes, apocyanine dyes, styryl cyanine dyes (hemicyanine dyes), aza-styryl cyanine dyes)aza-hemicyanine dyes(, merocyanine dyes (acyclic merocyanine dyes and cyclic merocyanine dyes) squarylium cyanine dyes (aromatic squarylium cyanine dyes and heterocyclic squarylium cyanine dyes), spectral sensitization evaluation of cyanine dyes, solvatochromic evaluation of cyanine dyes, halochromic evaluation of cyanine dyes, cyanine dyes for CD-R and DVD-R, cyanine dyes as fluorescent labels for nucleic acid research, mechanisms of dimethine cyanine dyes and mechanisms of apocyanine dyes. In addition, in the introduction section of this review paper some light is focussed on some important uses and applications of cyanine dyes. This special and/or specific type of collective review in the fundamentals, principles, knowledge and/or the understanding of cyanine dyes chemistry has been paid little attention and is lacking in the chemistry literature.