title: Facile Fabrication of AIE-Active Fluorescent Polymeric Nanoparticles with Ultra-Low Critical Micelle Concentration Based on Ce(IV) Redox Polymerization for Biological Imaging Applications.
abstract: Fluorescent polymeric nanoparticles (FPNs) with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) property have received increasing attention and possess promising biomedical application potential in the recent years. Many efforts have been devoted to the fabrication methodologies of FPNs and significant advance has been achieved. In this contribution, a novel strategy for the fabrication of AIE-active amphiphilic copolymers is reported for the first time based on the Ce(IV) redox polymerization. As an example, ene group containing AIE-active dye (named as Phe-alc) is directly grafted onto a water soluble polymer polyethylene glycol (PEG) in H2O/THF system under low temperature. Thus-obtained amphiphilic fluorescent polymers will self-assemble into FPNs with ultra-low critical micelle concentration, ultra-brightness, and great water dispersibility. Biological evaluation results suggest that the PEG-poly(Phe-alc) possess excellent biocompatibility and can be used for tracing their behavior in cells using confocal laser scanning microscope. These features make PEG-poly(Phe-alc) FPNs promising candidates for many biomedical applications, such as cell imaging, drug delivery vehicles, and targeted tracing. More importantly, many other functional groups can also be incorporated into these AIE-active FPNs through the redox polymerization. Therefore, the redox polymerization should be a facile and effective strategy for fabrication of AIE-active FPNs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang, 330031, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wan
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang, 330031, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Dazhuang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang, 330031, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Liucheng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang, 330031, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Ziyang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang, 330031, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Guangjian
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang, 330031, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yingge
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang, 330031, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Fengjie
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang, 330031, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Meiying
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang, 330031, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Xiaoyong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and the Tsinghua Center for Frontier Polymer Research, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wei
mesh_terms: D000072283:A549 Cells; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002563:Cerium / Q000737:chemistry*; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005453:Fluorescence; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D008823:Micelles; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal / Q000379:methods; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D008956:Models, Chemical; D015394:Molecular Structure; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry; D058105:Polymerization; D011108:Polymers / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D066244:Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D008823:Micelles; D011108:Polymers; D002563:Cerium; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols
keywords: aggregation-induced emission; biological imaging; fluorescent polymeric nanoparticles; redox polymerization; self-assembly