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Mapping Live Cell Viscosity with an Aggregation‐Induced Emission Fluorogen by Means of Two‐Photon Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging
Author(s) -
Chen Sijie,
Hong Yuning,
Zeng Yan,
Sun Qiqi,
Liu Yang,
Zhao Engui,
Bai Gongxun,
Qu Jianan,
Hao Jianhua,
Tang Ben Zhong
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201405658
Subject(s) - viscosity , fluorescence , intracellular , cytoplasm , biophysics , lipid droplet , fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy , work (physics) , live cell imaging , chemistry , materials science , cell , optics , biochemistry , composite material , biology , thermodynamics , physics
Intracellular viscosity is a crucial parameter that indicates the functioning of cells. In this work, we demonstrate the utility of TPE‐Cy, a cell‐permeable dye with aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) property, in mapping the viscosity inside live cells. Owing to the AIE characteristics, both the fluorescence intensity and lifetime of this dye are increased along with an increase in viscosity. Fluorescence lifetime imaging of live cells stained with TPE‐Cy reveals that the lifetime in lipid droplets is much shorter than that from the general cytoplasmic region. The loose packing of the lipids in a lipid droplet results in low viscosity and thus shorter lifetime of TPE‐Cy in this region. It demonstrates that the AIE dye could provide good resolution in intracellular viscosity sensing. This is also the first work in which AIE molecules are applied in fluorescence lifetime imaging and intracellular viscosity sensing.