An AIE‐Based Probe for Rapid and Ultrasensitive Imaging of Plasma Membranes in Biosystems

• Published in: Angewandte Chemie International Edition Vol. 59; no. 25; pp. 9962 - 9966
• Main Authors: Shi, Lei, Liu, Yan‐Hong, Li, Kun, Sharma, Amit, Yu, Kang‐Kang, Ji, Myung Sun, Li, Ling‐Ling, Zhou, Qian, Zhang, Hong, Kim, Jong Seung, Yu, Xiao‐Qi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: WEINHEIM Wiley 15.06.2020; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Edition: International ed. in English
• Subjects: aggregation-induced emission; Animals; Biocompatibility; Biocompatible Materials; Biomarkers; Cell Membrane - ultrastructure; Chemistry; Chemistry, Multidisciplinary; Complex systems; Electrostatic properties; Epidermis - ultrastructure; Erythrocytes; Erythrocytes - ultrastructure; Eye - ultrastructure; Fluorescence; Fluorescent Dyes - chemistry; fluorescent probes; Humans; Hydrophobicity; Medical imaging; Membranes; Neuroimaging; neurons; Neurons - ultrastructure; Optical Imaging; Physical Sciences; Plasma membranes; Science & Technology; Spectrometry, Fluorescence; structural biology; Zebrafish; plasma membranes; TRACKING; aggregation-induced emission; structural biology; GENERATION; neurons; fluorescent probes
• DOI: 10.1002/anie.201909498
• ISSN: 1433-7851; 1521-3773

The abnormality of the plasma membrane (PM) is an important biomarker for cell status and many diseases. Hence, visualizing the PM, especially in complex systems, is an emerging field in the life sciences, especially in low‐resource settings. Herein, we developed a water‐soluble PM‐specific probe utilizing electrostatic and hydrophobic interaction strategies with aggregation‐induced emission as the signal output. The probe could image the PM with many advanced features (wash‐free, ultrafast staining process, excellent PM specificity, and good biocompatibility), which were demonstrated by the PM imaging of neurons. The probe allowed for the first time the imaging of erythrocytes in the complex brain environment through a fluorescence‐based method. Moreover, the PM of the epidermal and partial view of the eyeball structure of live zebrafish are also revealed. Insane in the membrane: A plasma membrane (PM)‐specific probe with aggregation‐induced emission characteristics for wash‐free PM imaging is presented. This is the first time that erythrocytes have been visualized in the brain through a fluorescence‐based method. Moreover, a partial view of the eyeball structure of live zebrafish was obtained through the in situ labelling of the epidermal PM.