Water dispersible, non-cytotoxic, cross-linked luminescent AIE dots: Facile preparation and bioimaging applications

Fluorescent organic nanoparticles have attracted great current research interest due to their superior properties as compared with small organic dyes and fluorescent inorganic nanoparticles. However, fluorescent organic nanoparticles based on conventional organic dyes often result in significant fluorescence decrease due to the notorious aggregation-caused quenching effect. On the other hand, these fluorescent organic nanoparticles obtained from self-assembly are normally not stable in diluted solution. Therefore, the development of novel fluorescent organic nanoparticles which could overcome these limitations is highly desirable for their practical biomedical applications. In this work, water dispersible, non-cytotoxic and cross-linked luminescent polymeric nanoparticles based on aggregation induced emission dyes were prepared via one pot emulsion polymerization. These cross-linked luminescent polymeric nanoparticles emitted strong red fluorescence and were highly stable in diluted aqueous solution, making them highly potential for various biomedical applications.