Compounds and methods are disclosed thatare useful for noninvasive imaging in the near-infraredspectral range. The cyanine compounds of Formula (I) arepresented: (I). wherein Q is a portion of a polymethinebridge selected from the group consisting of: (a) and (b).Also included are bioconjugates of the compounds ofFor-mula (I), methods of labeling biomolecules with thecom-pounds, and methods of imaging.