Pseudo isocyanine chloride (PIC) has been identified in a preceding work as a sensor suited to probe macromolecular crowding both in test tubes with solutions of synthetic crowding agents and in HeLa cells as a representative of living systems. The sensing is based on a delicate response of the self-assembly pattern of PIC towards a variation in macromolecular crowding. Based on a suitable selection of criteria established in the present study, four additional cyanine dyestuffs (TDBC, S071, S2275, and PCYN) were scrutinized for their ability to act as such a sensor, and the results were compared with the corresponding performance of PIC. UV-VIS and fluorescence spectroscopy were applied to investigate the photo-physical properties of the four candidates and, if possible, light scattering was used to characterize the self-assembly of the dyestuffs in solution. Finally, HeLa cells were exposed to solutions of the most promising candidates in order to analyze their ability to infiltrate the cells and to self-assemble therein. None of the dyestuff candidates turned out to be as similarly promising in probing crowding effects in cells as PIC turned out to be. S0271 and S2275 are at least stable enough and meet the photophysical requirements necessary to act as sensors responding to changes in macromolecular crowding.

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