title: Ultrasonic-assisted Kabachnik-Fields reaction for rapid fabrication of AIE-active fluorescent organic nanoparticles.
abstract: Aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-active fluorescent organic nanoparticles (FNPs) have been extensively explored for fluorescence "turn-on" bio-imaging applications with the unique advantages over conventional FNPs. Transformation of AIE-active molecules into FNPs can greatly expand their biomedical application potential. Here we reported a novel "one-pot" strategy for fabricating AIE-active FNPs through an ultrasonic-assisted, catalysts-free and solvent-free Kabachnik-Fields (KF) reaction for the first time. The KF reaction can be completed within 10min to generate AIE-active PTH-CHO-PEI-DEP FNPs through mixing polyethylenimine and aldehyde group containing AIE dyes and diethyl phosphate. These PTH-CHO-PEI-DEP FNPs were confirmed by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and fluorescence spectroscopy etc. The cell uptake behavior as well as cell viability of PTH-CHO-PEI-DEP FNPs was examined to evaluate their potential for biomedical application. We demonstrated that the amphiphilic α-aminophosphonate polymers could self-assemble into PTH-CHO-PEI-DEP FNPs in aqueous solution and showed excellent water dispersibility. TEM image shows the size of PTH-CHO-PEI-DEP FNPs is 100-200nm. More importantly, the PTH-CHO-PEI-DEP FNPs emit strong green fluorescence and desirable biocompatibility, making them very suitable for biomedical applications. Finally, thus smart FNPs design together with their excellent performance will open a new avenue in the development of FNPs for following biological processes such as carcinogenesis.
authors: College of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, China.
authors: Zi
authors: Z
authors: Long
authors: College of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, China.
authors: Meiying
authors: M
authors: Liu
authors: College of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, China.
authors: Ruming
authors: R
authors: Jiang
authors: College of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, China.
authors: Guangjiang
authors: G
authors: Zeng
authors: College of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, China.
authors: Qing
authors: Q
authors: Wan
authors: College of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, China.
authors: Hongye
authors: H
authors: Huang
authors: College of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, China.
authors: Fengjie
authors: F
authors: Deng
authors: College of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, China.
authors: Yiqun
authors: Y
authors: Wan
authors: College of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, China. Electronic address: xiaoyongzhang1980@gmail.com.
authors: Xiaoyong
authors: X
authors: Zhang
authors: Department of Chemistry and the Tsinghua Center for Frontier Polymer Research, Tsinghua Park No. 1, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors: Yen
authors: Y
authors: Wei
mesh_terms: D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D017905:Phosphites / Q000737:chemistry; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D000069453:Ultrasonic Waves
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D009930:Organic Chemicals; D017905:Phosphites; D011108:Polymers; C433673:polyetherimide
keywords: Aggregation-induced emission; Biomedical applications; Fluorescent organic nanoparticles; Kabachnik-Fields reaction; Ultrasonic-assisted chemistry