Development of a fluorescent chalcone library and its application in the discovery of a mouse embryonic stem cell probeElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Experimental procedures, spectroscopic data, cell image data. See DOI: 10.1039/c2cc31662e

We report the first fluorescent diamino-chalcone library and its application in the discovery of a mouse embryonic stem cell (mESC) probe. CDg4, a novel green fluorescent mESC probe was discovered through a high-content image based screening of 160 members of the chalcone library. Interestingly, the molecular binding target of CDg4 was identified as the glycogen of the stem cell colony surface, rather than a conventional protein target from an intracellular source. CDg4 , a novel green fluorescent mESC probe, was discovered and its molecular target was identified as the glycogen of the embryonic stem cell colony surface.