9,10-(Divinyl) Anthracene Based Bright Aggregation-Induced Emission Organic Dots for HeLa Cells Imaging

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biotechnology
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Fluorescent organic dots are crucial for biological imaging.
• High quantum yield (QY) is essential for effective imaging.
• Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) molecules and amphiphilic polymers are key components for enhancing QY.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize novel bright AIE organic dots.
• To investigate the properties of AIE organic dots formed with different polymers.
• To functionalize AIE organic dots with folic acid (FA) for targeted cell labeling.

Main Methods:

• Encapsulation of 9,10-divinyl anthracene (DSA) with poly(styrene-co-maleic anhydride) (PSMA) and poly(isobutylene-alt-maleic anhydride) (PIMA).
• Characterization of AIE organic dots for particle size, morphology, and QY.
• Conjugation of folic acid (FA) to PSMA dots to create FA-dots.
• In vitro cell experiments using Hela cells to evaluate targeting and endocytosis.

Main Results:

• Novel AIE organic dots (PSMA dots and PIMA dots) with uniform particle size (~23 nm) and spherical morphology were successfully prepared.
• PSMA dots exhibited higher QYs (up to 28.9%) compared to PIMA dots.
• FA-dots demonstrated good optical properties, stability, biocompatibility, and specific targeting of folate receptor-overexpressing cells, with successful endocytosis into Hela cells.

Conclusions:

• PSMA-based AIE organic dots offer superior QY for biological imaging applications.
• FA-functionalized dots enable targeted labeling and imaging of specific cells overexpressing folate receptors.
• These FA-dots hold significant potential for advanced cellular imaging and diagnostics.