Aggregation Induced Emission Active Cytophilic Fluorescent Bioprobes for Long-Term Cell Tracking

• Main Authors: TANG BENZHONG, LIU JIANZHAO, YU YONG, LUO QIAN, HONG YUNING, LAM WING YIP, NG KA MING, CHEN SIJIE
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 11.04.2013
• Subjects: ACYCLIC, CARBOCYCLIC OR HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUNDS CONTAININGELEMENTS OTHER THAN CARBON, HYDROGEN, HALOGEN, OXYGEN, NITROGEN,SULFUR, SELENIUM OR TELLURIUM; CHEMISTRY; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIRCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MEASUREMENT OR ANALYSIS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MEASURING; METALLURGY; NANOTECHNOLOGY; ORGANIC CHEMISTRY; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHYSICS; SPECIFIC USES OR APPLICATIONS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TESTING; TRANSPORTING

Fluorescent bioprobes comprising fluorogen formed nanoparticles comprising fluorogens with aggregation-induced emission (ATE) properties, which can be used for long-term cell tracking. The fluorogens are nonemissive in organic solution but become highly emissive when aggregated in aqueous solution. The fluorescent molecules can readily pass through cell membranes, stain only the cell cytoplasm, and form highly emissive nanoaggregates in aqueous media without any obvious cytoxicity in the living cells. Furthermore, the molecules can be retained inside the cells without noticeable leakage to the outside. Therefore, these ATE-based compounds can be used as selective and cell-compatible fluroescent bioprobes for long-term live cell tracking and imaging.