title: Stable and Size-Tunable Aggregation-Induced Emission Nanoparticles Encapsulated with Nanographene Oxide and Applications in Three-Photon Fluorescence Bioimaging.
abstract: Organic fluorescent dyes with high quantum yield are widely applied in bioimaging and biosensing. However, most of them suffer from a severe effect called aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ), which means that their fluorescence is quenched at high molecular concentrations or in the aggregation state. Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) is a diametrically opposite phenomenon to ACQ, and luminogens with this feature can effectively solve this problem. Graphene oxide has been utilized as a quencher for many fluorescent dyes, based on which biosensing can be achieved. However, using graphene oxide as a surface modification agent of fluorescent nanoparticles is seldom reported. In this article, we used nanographene oxide (NGO) to encapsulate fluorescent nanoparticles, which consisted of a type of AIE dye named TPE-TPA-FN (TTF). NGO significantly improved the stability of nanoparticles in aqueous dispersion. In addition, this method could control the size of nanoparticles' flexibly as well as increase their emission efficiency. We then used the NGO-modified TTF nanoparticles to achieve three-photon fluorescence bioimaging. The architecture of ear blood vessels in mice and the distribution of nanoparticles in zebrafish could be observed clearly. Furthermore, we extended this method to other AIE luminogens and showed it was widely feasible.
authors.forename: Zhenfeng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.forename: Xinyuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology , Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.affiliation: SCUT-HKUST Joint Research Laboratory, Guangdong Innovative Research Team, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology (SCUT) , Guangzhou 510640, China.
authors.forename: Rongrong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Hequn
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Dongyu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Zhengping
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology , Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Ben Zhong
authors.initials: BZ
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Sailing
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: He
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D004339:Drug Compounding; D004423:Ear / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000098:blood supply; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian; D005260:Female; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000494:pharmacology; D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry*; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D036641:Microscopy, Fluorescence, Multiphoton / Q000379:methods*; D057054:Molecular Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D061848:Optical Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D010087:Oxides; D015027:Zebrafish
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D010087:Oxides; D006108:Graphite
keywords: aggregation-induced emission; bioimaging; nanographene oxide; nanoparticles; three-photon luminescence