Unlocking the NIR-II AIEgen for High Brightness through Intramolecular Electrostatic Locking
Xinyuan Wang
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Printed Organic Electronic, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055 China
Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, Division of Life Science, and State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong, 999077 China
X. Wang and X. Yang contributed equally.
Search for more papers by this authorXueqin Yang
Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, Division of Life Science, and State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong, 999077 China
X. Wang and X. Yang contributed equally.
Search for more papers by this authorGuanyu Jiang
State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241 China
Search for more papers by this authorDr. Zhubin Hu
State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241 China
Search for more papers by this authorXun Zhang
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Printed Organic Electronic, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055 China
Search for more papers by this authorDr. Xinyuan He
Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, Division of Life Science, and State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong, 999077 China
Search for more papers by this authorDr. Jianyu Zhang
Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, Division of Life Science, and State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong, 999077 China
Search for more papers by this authorProf. Jianquan Zhang
School of Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Institute of Aggregate Science and Technology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK-Shenzhen), Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518172 China
Search for more papers by this authorWuke Cao
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Printed Organic Electronic, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055 China
Search for more papers by this authorKaizhen Zhang
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Printed Organic Electronic, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055 China
Search for more papers by this authorProf. Jacky W. Y. Lam
Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, Division of Life Science, and State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong, 999077 China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Prof. Jianwei Sun
Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, Division of Life Science, and State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong, 999077 China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Prof. Haitao Sun
State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241 China
Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, 030006 China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Prof. Yongye Liang
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Printed Organic Electronic, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055 China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Prof. Ben Zhong Tang
Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, Division of Life Science, and State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong, 999077 China
School of Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Institute of Aggregate Science and Technology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK-Shenzhen), Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518172 China
Search for more papers by this authorXinyuan Wang
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Printed Organic Electronic, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055 China
Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, Division of Life Science, and State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong, 999077 China
X. Wang and X. Yang contributed equally.
Search for more papers by this authorXueqin Yang
Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, Division of Life Science, and State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong, 999077 China
X. Wang and X. Yang contributed equally.
Search for more papers by this authorGuanyu Jiang
State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241 China
Search for more papers by this authorDr. Zhubin Hu
State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241 China
Search for more papers by this authorXun Zhang
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Printed Organic Electronic, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055 China
Search for more papers by this authorDr. Xinyuan He
Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, Division of Life Science, and State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong, 999077 China
Search for more papers by this authorDr. Jianyu Zhang
Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, Division of Life Science, and State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong, 999077 China
Search for more papers by this authorProf. Jianquan Zhang
School of Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Institute of Aggregate Science and Technology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK-Shenzhen), Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518172 China
Search for more papers by this authorWuke Cao
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Printed Organic Electronic, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055 China
Search for more papers by this authorKaizhen Zhang
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Printed Organic Electronic, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055 China
Search for more papers by this authorProf. Jacky W. Y. Lam
Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, Division of Life Science, and State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong, 999077 China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Prof. Jianwei Sun
Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, Division of Life Science, and State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong, 999077 China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Prof. Haitao Sun
State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241 China
Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, 030006 China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Prof. Yongye Liang
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Printed Organic Electronic, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055 China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Prof. Ben Zhong Tang
Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, Division of Life Science, and State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong, 999077 China
School of Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Institute of Aggregate Science and Technology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK-Shenzhen), Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518172 China
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Fluorescent imaging and biosensing in the near-infrared-II (NIR-II) window holds great promise for non-invasive, radiation-free, and rapid-response clinical diagnosis. However, it's still challenging to develop bright NIR-II fluorophores. In this study, we report a new strategy to enhance the brightness of NIR-II aggregation-induced emission (AIE) fluorophores through intramolecular electrostatic locking. By introducing sulfur atoms into the side chains of the thiophene bridge in TSEH molecule, the molecular motion of the conjugated backbone can be locked through intramolecular interactions between the sulfur and nitrogen atoms. This leads to enhanced NIR-II fluorescent emission of TSEH in both solution and aggregation states. Notably, the encapsulated nanoparticles (NPs) of TSEH show enhanced brightness, which is 2.6-fold higher than TEH NPs with alkyl side chains. The in vivo experiments reveal the feasibility of TSEH NPs in vascular and tumor imaging with a high signal-to-background ratio and precise resection for tiny tumors. In addition, polystyrene nanospheres encapsulated with TSEH are utilized for antigen detection in lateral flow assays, showing a signal-to-noise ratio 1.9-fold higher than the TEH counterpart in detecting low-concentration antigens. This work highlights the potential for developing bright NIR-II fluorophores through intramolecular electrostatic locking and their potential applications in clinical diagnosis and biomedical research.
Conflict of interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Open Research
Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available in the supplementary material of this article.
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