Protein‐Sized Bright Fluorogenic Nanoparticles Based on Cross‐Linked Calixarene Micelles with Cyanine Corona |
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Authors: | Dr. Ievgen Shulov Dr. Roman V. Rodik Dr. Youri Arntz Dr. Andreas Reisch Prof. Vitaly I. Kalchenko Dr. Andrey S. Klymchenko |
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Affiliation: | 1. Laboratoire de Biophotonique et Pharmacologie, UMR 7213 CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, Faculté de Pharmacie, Illkirch, France;2. Organic Chemistry Department, Chemistry Faculty, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine;3. Institute of Organic Chemistry, National Academy of Science of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine |
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Abstract: | The key challenge in the field of fluorescent nanoparticles (NPs) for biological applications is to achieve superior brightness for sizes equivalent to single proteins (3–7 nm). We propose a concept of shell‐cross‐linked fluorescent micelles, in which PEGylated cyanine 3 and 5 bis‐azides form a covalently attached corona on micelles of amphiphilic calixarene bearing four alkyne groups. The fluorescence quantum yield of the obtained monodisperse NPs, with a size of 7 nm, is a function of viscosity and reached up to 15 % in glycerol. In the on‐state they are circa 2‐fold brighter than quantum dots (QD‐585), which makes them the smallest PEGylated organic NPs of this high brightness. FRET between cyanine 3 and 5 cross‐linkers at the surface of NPs suggests their integrity in physiological media, organic solvents, and living cells, in which the NPs rapidly internalize, showing excellent imaging contrast. Calixarene micelles with a cyanine corona constitute a new platform for the development of protein‐sized ultrabright fluorescent NPs. |
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Keywords: | calixarenes click chemistry cyanines fluorescence nanoparticles |
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