Recent advancements in the design and development of near infrared (NIR) emitting fluorescent probes for sensing and their bio-imaging applications.

Fluorescent bio-imaging will be the future in the medical diagnostic for visualising inner cellular and tissues. Near-infrared (NIR) emitting fluorescent probe serve dynamically for targeted fluorescent imaging of live cells and tissues. NIR imaging is advantageous because of its merits like deep tissue penetration, minimum damage to the tissue, reduced auto fluorescence from the background, and improved resolution in imaging. The development of NIR emitting probe was well explored recently and growing drastically. In this review, we summarise recent achievements in NIR probes during the period 2018 to 2021. The merits and future applications have also been discussed in this review.