Non-blinking, highly luminescent, pH- and heavy-metal-ion-stable organic nanodots for bio-imaging

Fei-Fei An, Jun Ye, Jin-Feng Zhang, Yin-Long Yang, Cai-Jun Zheng, Xiu-Juan Zhang, Zhuang Liu, Chun-Sing Lee, Xiao-Hong Zhang

Research output: Journal Publications and ReviewsRGC 21 - Publication in refereed journalpeer-review

29 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Heavy-metal-free, organic-small-molecule-based fluorescent nanodots (Sdots, 31-60 nm in diameter) based on 2,7-di(4-(diphenylamino)phenyl-2,1,3- benzothiadiazol-7-yl)-9,9′-spirobifluorene (Spiro-BTA) were prepared through a simple solution process. The Sdots show not only non-blinking and high-brightness fluorescence but also stability in various pH conditions and heavy metal ion solutions. More importantly, Spiro-BTA Sdots demonstrate obviously much higher brightness with very high signal-to-background ratio in Hela cell, compared with common CdSe/ZnS QDs. In addition, they exhibit large Stokes shifts, broad absorption spectra, and low toxicity to living cells which enable their applications as good fluorescence probes for bio-imaging. Further application of Sdots for folate receptor-mediated live-cell endocytosis was demonstrated by non-convalent modification with folic acid linked multidentate ligands. © The Royal Society of Chemistry.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3144-3151
JournalJournal of Materials Chemistry B
Volume1
Issue number25
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 7 Jul 2013

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Non-blinking, highly luminescent, pH- and heavy-metal-ion-stable organic nanodots for bio-imaging'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this