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Yuan Y, Hou W, Sun Z, Liu J, Ma N, Li X, Yin S, Qin W, Wu C. Measuring Cellular Uptake of Polymer Dots for Quantitative Imaging and Photodynamic Therapy. Anal Chem 2021; 93:7071-7078. [PMID: 33905656 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c00548] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
There is a great deal of interest in the development of nanoparticles for biomedicine. The question of how many nanoparticles are taken up by cells is important for biomedical applications. Here, we describe a fluorescence method for the quantitative measurement of the cellular uptake of polymer dots (Pdots) and a further estimation of intracellular Pdots photosensitizer for fluorescence imaging and photodynamic therapy. The approach relies on the high brightness, excellent stability, minimal aggregation quenching, and metalloporphyrin doping properties of the Pdots. We correlated the single-cell fluorescence brightness obtained from fluorescence spectrometry, confocal microscopy, and flow cytometry with the number of endocytosed Pdots, which was validated by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Our results indicated that, on average, ∼1.3 million Pdots were taken up by single cells that were incubated for 4 h with arginine 8-Pdots (40 μg/mL, ∼20 nm diameter). The absolute number of endocytosed Pdots of individual cells could be estimated from confocal microscopy by comparing the single-cell brightness with the average intensity. Furthermore, we investigated the cell viability as a result of an intracellular Pdots photosensitizer, from which the half maximal inhibitory concentration was determined to be ∼7.2 × 105 Pdots per cell under the light dose of 60 J/cm2. This study provides an effective method for quantifying endocytosed Pdots, which can be extended to investigate the cellular uptake of various conjugated polymer carriers in biomedicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ye Yuan
- State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, College of Electronic Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, Jilin, China
| | - Weiying Hou
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, Guangdong, China
| | - Zezhou Sun
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, Guangdong, China
| | - Jie Liu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, Guangdong, China
| | - Ning Ma
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, Guangdong, China
| | - Xiaosong Li
- Department of Oncology, Fourth Medical Center of Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing 100048, China
| | - Shengyan Yin
- State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, College of Electronic Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, Jilin, China
| | - Weiping Qin
- State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, College of Electronic Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, Jilin, China
| | - Changfeng Wu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, Guangdong, China
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Gon M, Wakabayashi J, Nakamura M, Tanaka K, Chujo Y. Controlling Energy Gaps of π-Conjugated Polymers by Multi-Fluorinated Boron-Fused Azobenzene Acceptors for Highly Efficient Near-Infrared Emission. Chem Asian J 2021; 16:696-703. [PMID: 33527711 DOI: 10.1002/asia.202100037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2021] [Revised: 01/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
We demonstrate that multi-fluorinated boron-fused azobenzene (BAz) complexes can work as a strong electron acceptor in electron donor-acceptor (D-A) type π-conjugated polymers. Position-dependent substitution effects were revealed, and the energy level of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) was critically decreased by fluorination. As a result, the obtained polymers showed near-infrared (NIR) emission (λPL =758-847 nm) with high absolute photoluminescence quantum yield (ΦPL =7-23%) originating from low-lying LUMO energy levels of the BAz moieties (-3.94 to -4.25 eV). Owing to inherent solid-state emissive properties of the BAz units, deeper NIR emission (λPL =852980 nm) was detected in film state. Clear solvent effects prove that the NIR emission is from a charge transfer state originating from a strong D-A interaction. The effects of fluorination on the frontier orbitals are well understandable and predictable by theoretical calculation with density functional theory. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of fluorination to the BAz units for producing a strong electron-accepting unit through fine-tuning of energy gaps, which can be the promising strategy for designing NIR absorptive and emissive materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masayuki Gon
- Department of Polymer Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University Katsura, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto, 615-8510, Japan
| | - Junko Wakabayashi
- Department of Polymer Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University Katsura, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto, 615-8510, Japan
| | - Masashi Nakamura
- Department of Polymer Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University Katsura, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto, 615-8510, Japan
| | - Kazuo Tanaka
- Department of Polymer Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University Katsura, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto, 615-8510, Japan
| | - Yoshiki Chujo
- Department of Polymer Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University Katsura, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto, 615-8510, Japan
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Buguis FL, Maar RR, Staroverov VN, Gilroy JB. Near‐Infrared Boron Difluoride Formazanate Dyes. Chemistry 2021; 27:2854-2860. [DOI: 10.1002/chem.202004793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2020] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Francis L. Buguis
- Department of Chemistry and The Centre for Advanced Materials and Biomaterials Research (CAMBR) The University of Western Ontario 1151 Richmond Street North London Ontario N6A 5B7 Canada
| | - Ryan R. Maar
- Department of Chemistry and The Centre for Advanced Materials and Biomaterials Research (CAMBR) The University of Western Ontario 1151 Richmond Street North London Ontario N6A 5B7 Canada
| | - Viktor N. Staroverov
- Department of Chemistry and The Centre for Advanced Materials and Biomaterials Research (CAMBR) The University of Western Ontario 1151 Richmond Street North London Ontario N6A 5B7 Canada
| | - Joe B. Gilroy
- Department of Chemistry and The Centre for Advanced Materials and Biomaterials Research (CAMBR) The University of Western Ontario 1151 Richmond Street North London Ontario N6A 5B7 Canada
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