Polymethines are compounds made up from an ''odd'' number of
methine groups (CH) bound together by alternating single and
double bond
In chemistry, a double bond is a covalent bond between two atoms involving four bonding electrons as opposed to two in a single bond. Double bonds occur most commonly between two carbon atoms, for example in alkenes. Many double bonds exist betw ...
s.
[Kachovski and Dekhtyar, ''Dyes and Pigments'', 22 (1983) 83-97.] Compounds made up from an ''even'' number of methine groups are known as
polyenes.
Polymethine dyes
Cyanines are synthetic dyes belonging to polymethine group.
Anthocyanidins are natural plant pigments belonging to the group of the polymethine dyes.
Polymethines are fluorescent dyes that may be attached to nucleic acid probes for different uses, ''e.g.'', to accurately count
reticulocyte
Reticulocytes are immature red blood cells (RBCs). In the process of erythropoiesis (red blood cell formation), reticulocytes develop and mature in the bone marrow and then circulate for about a day in the blood stream before developing into mat ...
s.
References
Alkenes
{{alkene-stub