title: Reversible photoswitching conjugated polymer nanoparticles for cell and ex vivo tumor imaging.
abstract: Fluorescent photoswitchable conjugated polymer nanoparticles (PCPNPs) bearing poly(9,9-dihexylfluorene-alt-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole) (PFBD) as the fluorescent host polymer and the photochromic diarylethene as toggle are synthesized via a modified nano-precipitation method using 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-[amino(polyethylene glycol)-2000] (DSPE-PEG-NH₂) as the encapsulation matrix. The PCPNPs are spherical in shape with diameters around 34 nm. The fluorescence switching processes upon UV and white light illumination are successfully demonstrated with high contrast up to 90-fold, recovery efficiency of 95%, and excellent repeatability in solution. The cationic PCPNPs can be easily internalized into cancer cells, and accumulate in tumor tissues, where the fluorescence photoswitching processes can be used to self-validate the imaging results.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, 117576, Singapore.
authors.forename: Guangxue
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D061848:Optical Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; D011108:Polymers