title: Hydrophobicity determines the fate of self-assembled fluorescent nanoparticles in cells.
abstract: The fate of small molecule nanoparticles (SMNPs) composed of self-assembling intrinsically fluorescent π-conjugated oligomers was studied in cells as a function of side-chain hydrophobicity. While the hydrophobic SMNPs remained intact upon cellular uptake, the more hydrophilic SMNPs disassembled and dispersed throughout the cytosol.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Institute of Complex Molecular Systems (ICMS), Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands. l.brunsveld@tue.nl.
authors.forename: Arthur H A M
authors.initials: AHAM
authors.lastname: van Onzen
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Institute of Complex Molecular Systems (ICMS), Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands. l.brunsveld@tue.nl and Nanoscopy for Nanomedicine Group, Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), Barcelona, 08028, Spain.
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Albertazzi
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Functional Organic Materials and Devices, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry and Institute of Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Albertus P H J
authors.initials: APHJ
authors.lastname: Schenning
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Institute of Complex Molecular Systems (ICMS), Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands. l.brunsveld@tue.nl.
authors.forename: Lech-Gustav
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Milroy
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Institute of Complex Molecular Systems (ICMS), Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands. l.brunsveld@tue.nl.
authors.forename: Luc
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5675-511X
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Brunsveld
mesh_terms: D003600:Cytosol / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes