Massachusetts Institute of Technology Oct 6 2025 MIT chemists have designed a new type of fluorescent molecule that they hope could be used for applications such as generating clearer images of tumors. The new dye is based on a borenium ion - a positively charged form of boron that can emit light in the red to near-infrared range. Until recently, these ions have been too unstable to be used for imaging or other biomedical applications. In a study appearing today in  Nature Chemistry , the