High-intensity near-IR fluorescence in semiconducting polymer dots achieved by cascade FRET strategy.

ABSTRACT: Near-IR (NIR) emitting semiconducting polymer dots (Pdots) with ultrabright fluorescence have been prepared for specific cellular targeting. A series of π-conjugated polymers were synthesized to form water dispersible multicomponent Pdots by an ultrasonication-assisted co-precipitation method. By optimizing cascade energy transfer in Pdots, high-intensity NIR fluorescence (φ = 0.32) with tunable excitations, large absorption-emission separation (up to 330 nm), and narrow emission bands (FWHM = 44 nm) have been achieved. Single-particle fluorescence imaging show that the as-prepared NIR Pdots were more than three times brighter than the commercially available Qdot705 with comparable sizes under identical conditions of excitation and detection. Because of the covalent introduction of

SUBMITTER: Zhang X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5613671 | biostudies-literature | 2013 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature