Self-Assembled Fluorescent Nanoparticles from π-Conjugated Small Molecules: En Route to Biological Applications
Jurgen Schill1, Albertus P H J Schenning2, Luc Brunsveld1
1Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Department of Biomedical Engineering, and Institute of Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O Box 513, 5600, MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
Since the development of supramolecular chemical biology, self-organised nano-architectures have been widely explored in a variety of biomedical applications. Functionalized synthetic molecules with the ability of non-covalent assembly in an aqueous environment are typically able to interact with biological systems and are therefore especially interesting for their use in theranostics. Nanostructures based on π-conjugated oligomers are particularly promising as theranostic platforms as they bear outstanding photophysical properties as well as drug loading capabilities. This Feature Article provides an overview on the recent advances in the self-assembly of intrinsically fluorescent nanoparticles from π-conjugated small molecules such as fluorene or perylene based chromophores for biomedical applications.
