Planar and Twisted Molecular Structure Leads to the High Brightness of Semiconducting Polymer Nanoparticles for NIR-IIa Fluorescence Imaging
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- 5 August 2020
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Chemical Society (ACS) in Journal of the American Chemical Society
- Vol. 142 (35), 15146-15156
- https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.0c07193
Abstract
Semiconducting polymer nanoparticles (SPNs) emitting in the second near-infrared window (NIR-II, 1000-1700 nm) are promising materials for deep-tissue optical imaging in mammals, but the brightness is far from satisfaction. Herein, we developed a molecular design strategy to boost the brightness of NIR-II SPNs: structure planarization and twisting. By integration of the strong absorption coefficient inherited from planar π-conjugated units and high solid-state quantum yield (ΦPL) from twisted motifs into one polymer, a rise in brightness was obtained. The resulting pNIR-4 with both twisted and planar structure displayed improved ΦPL and absorption than the planar polymer pNIR-1 and twisted polymer pNIR-2. Given the emission tail extending into the NIR-IIa region (1300-1400 nm) of pNIR-4 nanoparticles, NIR-IIa fluorescence imaging of blood vessels with enhanced clarity was observed. Moreover, a pH-responsive poly(β-amino ester) made pNIR-4 specifically accumulate at tumor sites, allowing NIR-IIa fluorescence image-guided cancer precision resection. This study provides a molecular design strategy for developing highly bright fluorophores.Keywords
Funding Information
- Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee (AHKUST605/16, C6009-17G)
- Nankai University
- Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China (2017YFE0132200)
- Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Commission (JCYJ20180507183832744)
- Innovation and Technology Commission (ITCCNERC14SC01, ITCPD/17-9)
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (21788102, 21805002, 51873092, 51961160730)
- Ming Wai Lau Centre for Reparative Medicine, Karolinska Institutet
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