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Highly Fluorescent Semiconducting Polymer Dots for Biology and Medicine
Author(s) -
Wu Changfeng,
Chiu Daniel T.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201205133
Subject(s) - nanotechnology , fluorescence , biosensor , polymer , conjugated system , surface modification , nanoparticle , materials science , drug delivery , fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy , chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics , composite material
In recent years, semiconducting polymer nanoparticles have attracted considerable attention because of their outstanding characteristics as fluorescent probes. These nanoparticles, which primarily consist of π‐conjugated polymers and are called polymer dots (Pdots) when they exhibit small particle size and high brightness, have demonstrated utility in a wide range of applications such as fluorescence imaging and biosensing. In this review, we summarize recent findings of the photophysical properties of Pdots which speak to the merits of these entities as fluorescent labels. This review also highlights the surface functionalization and biomolecular conjugation of Pdots, and their applications in cellular labeling, in vivo imaging, single‐particle tracking, biosensing, and drug delivery. We discuss the relationship between the physical properties and performance, and evaluate the merits and limitations of the Pdot probes for certain imaging tasks and fluorescence assays. We also tackle the current challenges of Pdots and share our perspective on the future directions of the field.