Mapping Live Cell Viscosity with an Aggregation‐Induced Emission Fluorogen by Means of Two‐Photon Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging |
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| Authors: | Dr Sijie Chen Dr Yuning Hong Dr Yan Zeng Qiqi Sun Dr Yang Liu Engui Zhao Gongxun Bai Prof Jianan Qu Prof Jianhua Hao Prof Ben Zhong Tang |
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| Institution: | 1. Division of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Chemistry, Institute for Advanced Study, Division of Life Science, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, Institute of Molecular Functional Materials, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (HKUST), Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong (China);2. School of Chemistry, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010 (Australia);3. Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, HKUST, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong (China);4. Department of Applied Physics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong (China);5. HKUST Shenzhen Research Institute, Hi‐tech Park, Nanshan, Shenzhen 518057 (China);6. Guangdong Innovative Research Team, SCUT‐HKUST Joint Research Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology (SCUT), Guangzhou 510640 (China) |
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| Abstract: | Intracellular viscosity is a crucial parameter that indicates the functioning of cells. In this work, we demonstrate the utility of TPE‐Cy, a cell‐permeable dye with aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) property, in mapping the viscosity inside live cells. Owing to the AIE characteristics, both the fluorescence intensity and lifetime of this dye are increased along with an increase in viscosity. Fluorescence lifetime imaging of live cells stained with TPE‐Cy reveals that the lifetime in lipid droplets is much shorter than that from the general cytoplasmic region. The loose packing of the lipids in a lipid droplet results in low viscosity and thus shorter lifetime of TPE‐Cy in this region. It demonstrates that the AIE dye could provide good resolution in intracellular viscosity sensing. This is also the first work in which AIE molecules are applied in fluorescence lifetime imaging and intracellular viscosity sensing. |
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| Keywords: | aggregation fluorescent probes imaging agents microviscosity sensors |
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