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Fabrication of Chitosan Nanoparticles with Aggregation‐Induced Emission Characteristics and Their Applications in Long‐Term Live Cell Imaging
Author(s) -
Li Min,
Hong Yuning,
Wang Zhengke,
Chen Sijie,
Gao Meng,
Kwok Ryan T. K.,
Qin Wei,
Lam Jacky W. Y.,
Zheng Qichang,
Tang Ben Zhong
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
macromolecular rapid communications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.348
H-Index - 154
eISSN - 1521-3927
pISSN - 1022-1336
DOI - 10.1002/marc.201200760
Subject(s) - chitosan , fabrication , aggregation induced emission , term (time) , nanoparticle , nanotechnology , materials science , chemical engineering , optics , physics , medicine , fluorescence , engineering , pathology , alternative medicine , quantum mechanics
Chitosan with tetraphenylethene pendants (TPE‐CS) are synthesized by reaction between amine and isothiocyanate groups of chitosan and tetraphenylethene (TPE), respectively. Nanoparticles of TPE‐CS (TPE‐CS NPs) are fabricated by ionic gelation method. The NPs are uniform in size, spherical in shape, monodispersed, and positive in surface charge. The suspension of TPE‐CS NPs emits strong blue fluorescence under photoexcitation due to the aggregation‐induced emission characteristics of the TPE moieties. The NPs can be internalized into cytoplasm through endocytosis pathway and retain inside the live cells to image the cells. Cytotoxicity assay reveals that TPE‐CS NPs are cytocompatible and thus can be used for long‐term live cell imaging.