title: Soft fluorescent nanomaterials for biological and biomedical imaging.
abstract: Soft fluorescent nanomaterials have attracted recent attention as imaging agents for biological applications, because they provide the advantages of good biocompatibility, high brightness, and easy biofunctionalization. Here, we provide a survey of recent developments in fluorescent soft nano-sized biological imaging agents. Various soft fluorescent nanoparticles (NPs) (including dye-doped polymer NPs, semiconducting polymer NPs, small-molecule organic NPs, nanogels, micelles, vesicles, and biomaterial-based NPs) are summarized from the perspectives of preparation methods, structure, optical properties, and surface functionalization. Based on both optical and functional properties of the nano-sized imaging agents, their applications are then reviewed in terms of in vitro imaging, in vivo imaging, and cellular-process imaging, by means of specific or nonspecific targeting.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. chiu@chem.washington.edu.
authors.forename: Hong-Shang
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Daniel T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Chiu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D005260:Female; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D049329:Nanostructures; D061848:Optical Imaging; D010316:Particle Size; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes