Open AccessRecent Advances of Activatable Molecular Probes Based on Semiconducting Polymer Nanoparticles in Sensing and Imaging
Author(s) -
Lyu Yan,
Pu Kanyi
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
advanced science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.388
H-Index - 100
ISSN - 2198-3844
DOI - 10.1002/advs.201600481
Subject(s) - photoacoustic imaging in biomedicine , nanotechnology , photoluminescence , nanoparticle , materials science , polymer , chemiluminescence , luminescence , molecular imaging , photonics , chemistry , optoelectronics , optics , physics , microbiology and biotechnology , in vivo , organic chemistry , composite material , biology
Molecular probes that change their signals in response to the target of interest have a critical role in fundamental biology and medicine. Semiconducting polymer nanoparticles (SPNs) have recently emerged as a new generation of purely organic photonic nanoagents with desirable properties for biological applications. In particular, tunable optical properties of SPNs allow them to be developed into photoluminescence, chemiluminescence, and photoacoustic probes, wherein SPNs usually serve as the energy donor and internal reference for luminescence and photoacoustic probes, respectively. Moreover, facile surface modification and intraparticle engineering provide the versatility to make them responsive to various biologically and pathologically important substances and indexes including small‐molecule mediators, proteins, pH and temperature. This article focuses on recent advances in the development of SPN‐based activatable molecular probes for sensing and imaging. The designs and applications of these probes are discussed in details, and the present challenges to further advance them into life science are also analyzed.