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Endoplasmic Reticulum–Targeted Fluorescent Nanodot with Large Stokes Shift for Vesicular Transport Monitoring and Long‐Term Bioimaging
Author(s) -
Shi Leilei,
Gao Xihui,
Yuan Wangzhang,
Xu Li,
Deng Hongping,
Wu Chenwei,
Yang Jiapei,
Jin Xin,
Zhang Chuan,
Zhu Xinyuan
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.201800223
Subject(s) - fluorescence , nanodot , stokes shift , biophysics , endoplasmic reticulum , photobleaching , chemistry , autofluorescence , golgi apparatus , vesicle , nanotechnology , materials science , biochemistry , biology , membrane , physics , quantum mechanics
Herein, a highly stable aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) fluorescent nanodot assembled by an amphiphilic quinoxalinone derivative‐peptide conjugate, namely Quino‐1‐Fmoc‐RACR (also termed as Q1‐PEP), which exhibits large Stokes shift and an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)‐targeting capacity for bioimaging is reported. It is found that the resulting nanodot can effectively enter the ER with high fluorescent emission. As the ER is mainly involved in the transport of synthesized proteins in vesicles to the Golgi or lysosomes, the Q1‐PEP nanodot with ER‐targeting capacity can be used to monitor vesicular transport inside the cells. Compared to conventional fluorescent dyes with small Stokes shifts, the self‐assembled fluorescent nanodot shows superior resistance to photobleaching and aggregation‐induced fluorescence quenching, and elimination of the spectra overlap with autofluorescence of biosubstrate owning to their AIE‐active and red fluorescence emission characteristics. All these optical properties make the fluorescent nanodot suitable for noninvasive and long‐term imaging both in vitro and in vivo.