Semiconducting Polymer Dots with Dual-Enhanced NIR-IIa Fluorescence for Through-Skull Mouse-Brain Imaging |
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| Authors: | Dr Zhe Zhang Dr Xiaofeng Fang Dr Zhihe Liu Dr Haichao Liu Dr Dandan Chen Prof Shuqing He Prof Jie Zheng Prof Bing Yang Prof Weiping Qin Prof Xuanjun Zhang Prof Changfeng Wu |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518055 China;2. State Key Laboratory of Integrated Optoelectronics, College of Electronic Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, 130012 China;3. Cancer Centre and Centre of Reproduction, Development and Aging, Faculty of Health Science, University of Macau, Taipa, Macau SAR, 999078 China |
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| Abstract: | Fluorescence probes in the NIR-IIa region show drastically improved imaging owing to the reduced photon scattering and autofluorescence in biological tissues. Now, NIR-IIa polymer dots (Pdots) are developed with a dual fluorescence enhancement mechanism. First, the aggregation induced emission of phenothiazine was used to reduce the nonradiative decay pathways of the polymers in condensed states. Second, fluorescence quenching was minimized by different levels of steric hindrance to further boost the fluorescence. The resulting Pdots displayed a fluorescence QY of ca. 1.7 % in aqueous solution, suggesting an enhancement of ca. 21 times in comparison with the original polymer in tetrahydrofuran (THF) solution. Small-animal imaging by using the NIR-IIa Pdots exhibited a remarkable improvement in penetration depth and signal to background ratio, as confirmed by through-skull and through-scalp fluorescent imaging of the cerebral vasculature of live mice. |
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| Keywords: | Aggregationsinduzierte Emission Molekulares Engineering NIR-II-Fluoreszenzbildgebung Polymerpunkte Halbleitende Polymere |
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