Biocompatible organic charge transfer complex nanoparticles based on a semi-crystalline cellulose template

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Supramolecular Chemistry

Background:

• Cellulose is a biocompatible and abundant natural polymer.
• Charge transfer (CT) complexes can exhibit unique optical properties.
• Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) is a phenomenon where molecules become emissive upon aggregation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop novel charge transfer (CT) nanoparticles (NPs) using a bio-inspired cellulose template.
• To investigate the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties of these CT NPs.
• To evaluate the potential of these NPs for biomedical imaging.

Main Methods:

• Pyrene-modified 2,3-di-O-methyl cellulose was synthesized.
• CT complexes were formed with small molecule acceptors, specifically 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ).
• Nanoparticle formation in aqueous medium induced AIE.

Main Results:

• The TCNQ-CT NPs exhibited multicolor fluorescence emissions at 370-400 nm, 602 nm, and 777 nm upon excitation at 330 nm, 485 nm, and 620 nm, respectively.
• The formation of nanoparticles in an aqueous medium triggered aggregation-induced emission (AIE).
• The synthesized cellulose-TCNQ NPs demonstrated good biocompatibility.

Conclusions:

• A novel approach using cellulose templates for CT NPs with AIE properties was successfully developed.
• The TCNQ-CT NPs show potential for multicolor fluorescence imaging.
• These biocompatible NPs represent an advancement for in vitro and in vivo biomedical imaging applications.