title: Amphiphilic Semiconducting Oligomer for Near-Infrared Photoacoustic and Fluorescence Imaging.
abstract: Semiconducting polymer nanoparticles (SPNs) have emerged as an alternative class of optical nanoagents for imaging applications. However, the general preparation method of SPNs is nanoprecipitation, which is likely to encounter the issue of nanoparticle dissociation. We herein report nondissociable near-infrared (NIR)-absorbing organic semiconducting nanoparticles for in vivo photoacoustic (PA) and fluorescence imaging. The nanoparticles are self-assembled from an amphiphilic semiconducting oligomer (ASO) that has a hydrophobic semiconducting oligomer backbone attached by hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) side chains. The ASO has a higher structural stability and brighter PA signals compared to those of its counterpart nanoparticles synthesized by nanoprecipitation. The small size and the PEG-passivated surface of the ASO allow it to passively target to and efficiently accumulate in the tumor of living mice, permitting tumor imaging with high signal-to-background ratios. Our study provides new NIR-absorbing organic nanoparticles for PA and fluorescence imaging, which also have the potential to be used as a drug carrier for theranostics.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Organic Electronics and Information Displays & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Jiangsu National Synergistic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM), Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications , 9 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210023, China.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University , 70 Nanyang Drive, 637457, Singapore.
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhen
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Organic Electronics and Information Displays & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Jiangsu National Synergistic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM), Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications , 9 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210023, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Organic Electronics and Information Displays & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Jiangsu National Synergistic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM), Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications , 9 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210023, China.
authors.forename: Yufu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Organic Electronics and Information Displays & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Jiangsu National Synergistic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM), Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications , 9 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210023, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University , 70 Nanyang Drive, 637457, Singapore.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lyu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Organic Electronics and Information Displays & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Jiangsu National Synergistic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM), Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications , 9 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210023, China.
authors.forename: Quli
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9387-0165
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Organic Electronics and Information Displays & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Jiangsu National Synergistic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM), Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications , 9 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210023, China.|Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (KLOFE) & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Jiangsu National Synergistic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM), Nanjing Tech University (NanjingTech) , 30 South Puzhu Road, Nanjing 211816, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7004-6408
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University , 70 Nanyang Drive, 637457, Singapore.
authors.forename: Kanyi
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8064-6009
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D051379:Mice; D053758:Nanoparticles; D061088:Photoacoustic Techniques; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D011108:Polymers; D000068936:Theranostic Nanomedicine
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols
keywords: fluorescence imaging; nanoparticles; photoacoustic imaging; self-assembly; semiconducting oligomer