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Ultrasmall, Bright, and Photostable Fluorescent Core–Shell Aluminosilicate Nanoparticles for Live‐Cell Optical Super‐Resolution Microscopy
Author(s) -
Erstling Jacob A.,
Hinckley Joshua A.,
Bag Nirmalya,
Hersh Jessica,
Feuer Grant B.,
Lee Rachel,
Malarkey Henry F.,
Yu Fei,
Ma Kai,
Baird Barbara A.,
Wiesner Ulrich B.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.202006829
Subject(s) - materials science , fluorescence , microscopy , nanotechnology , nanoparticle , surface modification , fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy , live cell imaging , superresolution , fluorescence microscope , optical microscope , aluminosilicate , vesicle , chemical engineering , scanning electron microscope , cell , chemistry , optics , membrane , biochemistry , physics , engineering , composite material , artificial intelligence , computer science , image (mathematics) , catalysis
Stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM) is an optical super‐resolution microscopy (SRM) technique that traditionally requires toxic and non‐physiological imaging buffers and setups that are not conducive to live‐cell studies. It is observed that ultrasmall (<10 nm) fluorescent core–shell aluminosilicate nanoparticles (aC’ dots) covalently encapsulating organic fluorophores enable STORM with a single excitation source and in a regular (non‐toxic) imaging buffer. It is shown that fourfold coordinated aluminum is responsible for dye blinking, likely via photoinduced redox processes. It is demonstrated that this phenomenon is observed across different dye families leading to probes brighter and more photostable than the parent free dyes. Functionalization of aC’ dots with antibodies allows targeted fixed cell STORM imaging. Finally, aC’ dots enable live‐cell STORM imaging providing quantitative measures of the size of intracellular vesicles and the number of particles per vesicle. The results suggest the emergence of a powerful ultrasmall, bright, and photostable optical SRM particle platform with characteristics relevant to clinical translation for the quantitative assessment of cellular structures and processes from live‐cell imaging.