A hydrophobic organelle probe based on aggregation-induced emission: Nanosuspension preparation and direct use for endoplasmic reticulum imaging in living cells

A hydrophobic organic compound (Me-THP-Naph) with aggregation-induced emission characteristics can be prepared as nanoparticles utilizing cell culture medium minimum essential medium (MEM) containing fetal bovine serum (FBS) and directly used as a probe specifically targeting the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in both cancer and normal cells with advantages of high signal-to-noise ratio, photostability, long-term tracing and excellent biocompatibility.94