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Updated: Aug 6, 2026
Synthesis and Calibration of Phosphorescent Nanoprobes for Oxygen Imaging in Biological Systems
Published on: March 3, 2010
A self-aggregated thermally activated delayed fluorescence nanoprobe for HClO imaging and activatable photodynamic
Qingyang Sha1, Xinsheng Li1, Xixin Gu1
1Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials, Joint International Research Laboratory for Precision Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Feringa Nobel Prize Scientist Joint Research Center, Frontiers Science Center for Materiobiology and Dynamic Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai, 200237, PR China.
Abstract:
Hypochlorous acid (HClO/ClO-) is a common ROS that exhibits elevated activity levels in cancer cells. In this study, an ClO--triggered TADF probe, PTZ-MNI, was designed based on a naphthalimide core. PTZ-MNI self-assemble in aqueous environments, exhibiting significantly enhanced fluorescence that demonstrated typical aggregation-induced delayed fluorescence (AIDF) characteristics. The probe not only showed high sensitivity to ClO- but also exhibited remarkable selectivity over other reactive oxygen species and disturbance. PTZ-MNI displayed TADF characteristic, including sensitivity to oxygen in toluene, insensitivity to oxygen in aggregated states that maintain long fluorescence lifetimes, a vertical conformation, and a minimal ΔEST of 0.01 eV. Cell imaging studies showed the probe could trace ClO- by red to green fluorescence in HeLa cell. The colocalization analysis indicated its excellent lysosome-targeting specificity. In addition, PTZ-MNI-O, the compound after oxidation, exhibited effective ROS generation ability and significant PDT effect after irradiation. This work provides guidance for the rational design of responsive TADF luminescent materials used in cell imaging and activatable-PDT.
