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Self‐Assembled Dual Dye‐Doped Nanosized Micelles for High‐Contrast Up‐Conversion Bioimaging
Author(s) -
Mattiello Sara,
Monguzzi Angelo,
Pedrini Jacopo,
Sassi Mauro,
Villa Chiara,
Torrente Yvan,
Marotta Roberto,
Meinardi Francesco,
Beverina Luca
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201603303
Subject(s) - materials science , biocompatible material , fluorescence , micelle , nanotechnology , quenching (fluorescence) , autofluorescence , doping , aqueous solution , optoelectronics , biomedical engineering , optics , chemistry , organic chemistry , medicine , physics
Sensitized triplet–triplet annihilation based photon up‐conversion (TTA‐UC) greatly improves the scope and applicability of fluorescence bioimaging by enabling anti‐Stokes detection at low powers, thus eliminating the background autofluorescence and limiting the potential damage of the living tissues. Here the authors present a facile, one‐step protocol to prepare dual dye‐doped, TTA‐UC active nanomicelles starting from the commercially available surfactant Kolliphor EL, a component of several FDA approved preparations. These nanosized micelles show an unprecedented up‐conversion yield of 6.5% under 0.1 W cm −2 excitation intensity in an aqueous, nondeaerated dispersion. The supramolecular architecture obtained preserves the embedded dyes from oxygen quenching, allowing satisfactory anti‐Stokes fluorescence imaging of 3T3 cells. This is the first example of efficient multicomponent up‐converters prepared using highly biocompatible materials approved by the international authority, paving the way for the development of new complex and multifunctional materials for advanced theranostics.