title: Molecular Engineering and Design of Semiconducting Polymer Dots with Narrow-Band, Near-Infrared Emission for in Vivo Biological Imaging.
abstract: This article describes the design and synthesis of donor-bridge-acceptor-based semiconducting polymer dots (Pdots) that exhibit narrow-band emissions, ultrahigh brightness, and large Stokes shifts in the near-infrared (NIR) region. We systematically investigated the effect of π-bridges on the fluorescence quantum yields of the donor-bridge-acceptor-based Pdots. The Pdots could be excited by a 488 or 532 nm laser and have a high fluorescence quantum yield of 33% with a Stokes shift of more than 200 nm. The emission full width at half-maximum of the Pdots can be as narrow as 29 nm, about 2.5 times narrower than that of inorganic quantum dots at the same emission wavelength region. The average per-particle brightness of the Pdots is at least 3 times larger than that of the commercially available quantum dots. The excellent biocompatibility of these Pdots was demonstrated in vivo, and their specific cellular labeling capability was also approved by different cell lines. By taking advantage of the durable brightness and remarkable stability of these NIR fluorescent Pdots, we performed in vivo microangiography imaging on living zebrafish embryos and long-term tumor monitoring on mice. We anticipate these donor-bridge-acceptor-based NIR-fluorescent Pdots with narrow-band emissions to find broad use in a variety of multiplexed biological applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, National Sun Yat-sen University , 70 Lien Hai Road, Kaohsiung, Taiwan 80424.
authors.forename: Chi-Shiang
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Ke
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, National Sun Yat-sen University , 70 Lien Hai Road, Kaohsiung, Taiwan 80424.
authors.forename: Chia-Chia
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Center for Nanomedicine Research, National Health Research Institutes , 35 Keyan Road, Zhunan, Taiwan 35053.
authors.forename: Jia-Ying
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, National Sun Yat-sen University , 70 Lien Hai Road, Kaohsiung, Taiwan 80424.
authors.forename: Po-Jung
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Tseng
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Ohio University , Athens, Ohio 45701, United States.
authors.forename: Joseph R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Pyle
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, National Sun Yat-sen University , 70 Lien Hai Road, Kaohsiung, Taiwan 80424.
authors.forename: Chuan-Pin
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Center for Nanomedicine Research, National Health Research Institutes , 35 Keyan Road, Zhunan, Taiwan 35053.
authors.forename: Shu-Yi
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Ohio University , Athens, Ohio 45701, United States.
authors.forename: Jixin
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7381-0918
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau , Macau SAR, China.
authors.forename: Xuanjun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, National Sun Yat-sen University , 70 Lien Hai Road, Kaohsiung, Taiwan 80424.
authors.forename: Yang-Hsiang
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9007-3910
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D015195:Drug Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007259:Infrared Rays; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008819:Mice, Nude; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D015394:Molecular Structure; D009374:Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D061848:Optical Imaging; D011108:Polymers / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D045663:Quantum Dots / Q000737:chemistry*; D012666:Semiconductors; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers
keywords: bioimaging; narrow fluorescence; near-infrared emission; semiconducting polymer dots; π-bridge