title: Triple-Emitting Dumbbell Fluorescent Nanoprobe for Multicolor Detection and Imaging Applications.
abstract: The combination of different fluorescent species into one nanostructure to develop fluorescent nanoparticles with multiple emission signatures by a single wavelength excitation has become a very popular research area in the field of multiplex bioanalysis, diagnostics, and multicolor imaging. However, these novel hybrids must be elaborately designed to ensure that the unique properties of each component are conveyed, i.e., fluorescent species and nanoparticles, and are maximized without serious interactions with each other. Herein, a first triple-fluorescence dumbbell nanoprobe with large Stokes shift based on incorporating fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) and lanthanide complexes onto Au-Fe3O4 NPs was synthesized. This hybrid displays well-resolved triple fluorescence emission, with FITC at 515 nm, Tb(III) complex at 545 nm, and Eu(III) complex at 616 nm under a single-excitation wavelength and is used for highly selective and sensitive colorimetric detection of Cu(2+) with a detection limit of 30 nM. Under different Cu(2+) concentrations, this hybrid exhibited distinguishable multiple colors under UV light, and the color could change in the presence of different concentrations of Cu(2+). This sensor for ratio/multianalyte microscopic imaging of Cu(2+) in HeLa cells and BHK cells was also demonstrated. Target molecules, such as folic acid, can be covalently attached to the fluorescent nanoparticle surface to serve as an effective probe for simultaneous multicolor imaging folate receptor-overexpressing HeLa cell lines in vitro.
authors.affiliation: †Key Laboratory of Nonferrous Metal Chemistry and Resources Utilization of Gansu Province, State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, and Key Laboratory of Special Function Materials and Structure Design, Ministry of Education, Lanzhou University Gansu, Lanzhou, 730000, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: †Key Laboratory of Nonferrous Metal Chemistry and Resources Utilization of Gansu Province, State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, and Key Laboratory of Special Function Materials and Structure Design, Ministry of Education, Lanzhou University Gansu, Lanzhou, 730000, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: †Key Laboratory of Nonferrous Metal Chemistry and Resources Utilization of Gansu Province, State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, and Key Laboratory of Special Function Materials and Structure Design, Ministry of Education, Lanzhou University Gansu, Lanzhou, 730000, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Weisheng
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: †Key Laboratory of Nonferrous Metal Chemistry and Resources Utilization of Gansu Province, State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, and Key Laboratory of Special Function Materials and Structure Design, Ministry of Education, Lanzhou University Gansu, Lanzhou, 730000, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Haoli
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: †Key Laboratory of Nonferrous Metal Chemistry and Resources Utilization of Gansu Province, State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, and Key Laboratory of Special Function Materials and Structure Design, Ministry of Education, Lanzhou University Gansu, Lanzhou, 730000, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Zhengyin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: †Key Laboratory of Nonferrous Metal Chemistry and Resources Utilization of Gansu Province, State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, and Key Laboratory of Special Function Materials and Structure Design, Ministry of Education, Lanzhou University Gansu, Lanzhou, 730000, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Baodui
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: †Key Laboratory of Nonferrous Metal Chemistry and Resources Utilization of Gansu Province, State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, and Key Laboratory of Special Function Materials and Structure Design, Ministry of Education, Lanzhou University Gansu, Lanzhou, 730000, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Fengjuan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: ‡State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiologic Biology, National Foot-and-Mouth Disease Reference Laboratory of China, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, 730046, Gansu, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Haotai
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003124:Colorimetry / Q000379:methods*; D003300:Copper / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D006224:Cricetinae; D005290:Ferric Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D016650:Fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate / Q000737:chemistry; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry*; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D057230:Limit of Detection; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D061848:Optical Imaging / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D005290:Ferric Compounds; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; C000499:ferric oxide; D006046:Gold; D003300:Copper; D005492:Folic Acid; D016650:Fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate