Formation of Highly Emissive Anthracene Excimers for Aggregation-Induced Emission/Self-Assembly Directed (Bio)imaging
AIEgens have emerged as a promising alternative to molecular rotors in bioimaging applications. However, transferring the concept of aggregation-induced emission (AIE) from solution to living systems remains a challenge. Given the highly heterogeneous nature and the compartmentalization of the cell,...
| Autores: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Tipo de documento: | artigo |
| Data de publicação: | 2023 |
| País: | España |
| Recursos: | Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha |
| Repositório: | RUIdeRA. Repositorio Institucional de la UCLM |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:ruidera.uclm.es:10578/43256 |
| Acesso em linha: | https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.3c10823 https://hdl.handle.net/10578/43256 |
| Access Level: | Acceso aberto |
| Palavra-chave: | aggregation-induced emission AIEgens living systems molecular rotors breast cancer fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy FLIM T-shaped anthracene dimers |
| Resumo: | AIEgens have emerged as a promising alternative to molecular rotors in bioimaging applications. However, transferring the concept of aggregation-induced emission (AIE) from solution to living systems remains a challenge. Given the highly heterogeneous nature and the compartmentalization of the cell, different approaches are needed to control the self-assembly within the crowded intricate cellular environment. Herein, we report for the first time the self-assembly mechanism of an anthracene-guanidine derivative (AG) forming the rare and highly emissive T-shaped dimer in breast cancer cell lines as a proof of concept. This process is highly sensitive to the local environment in terms of polarity, viscosity, and/or water quantity that should enable the use of the AG as a fluorescence lifetime imaging biosensor for intracellular imaging of cellular structures and the monitoring of intracellular state parameters. Different populations of the monomer and T-shaped and π–π dimers were observed in the cell membrane, cytoplasm, and nucleoplasm, related to the local viscosity and presence of water. The T-shaped dimer is formed preferentially in the nucleus because of the higher density and viscosity compared to the cytoplasm. The present results should serve as a precursor for the development of new design strategies for molecular systems for a wide range of applications such as cell viscosity, density, or temperature sensing and imaging. |
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