In this work, we reported for the first time that luminescent silica nanoparticles could be easily fabricated by the encapsulation of an aggregation-induced emission dye (named An18) via a modified St öber method. In this method, octadecyltrimethoxysilane (C18-Si) and An18 were first self assembled and served as the core of the silica nanoparticles. Then another silicate precursor, tetraethoxysilane, was further coated on the luminescent core, thus forming luminescent silica nanoparticles. The properties of the thus obtained luminescent silica nanoparticles (named An18-SiO 2 NPs) were investigated by fluorescence spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The biocompatibility and cell uptake behavior of the An18-SiO 2 NPs were further investigated to evaluate their potential for biomedical applications. Our results demonstrated that the An18-SiO 2 NPs have a uniform spherical morphology (with diameter of 70-80 nm), high water dispersibility, remarkable fluorescent properties and excellent biocompatibility, making them a promising candidate material for various biomedical applications.

Fluorescent organic nanoparticles based on aggregation induced emission dyes are fabricated through a ring-opening reaction using polylysine as the linker. The fluorescent organic nanoparticles obtained are characterized by a series of techniques including UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. A biocompatibility evaluation and the cell uptake behavior of the fluorescent organic nanoparticles are further investigated to evaluate their potential biomedical applications. It is demonstrated that these fluorescent organic nanoparticles can be obtained at room temperature in an air atmosphere without the need for catalyst or initiator. Furthermore, these crosslinked aggregation induced emission dye based fluorescent organic nanoparticles show uniform morphology, strong red fluorescence, high water dispersability, and excellent biocompatibility, making them promising candidates for various biomedical applications.

Glycosylated fluorescent organic nanoparticles (FONs) based on aggregation induced emission (AIE) dyes were fabricated for the first time through one-pot ring-opening reaction. These glycosylated AIE dye based FONs showed uniform morphology, high water dispersibility, strong red fluorescence and excellent biocompatibility, making them promising candidates for various biomedical applications.

In this work, we reported a rather facile method for fabrication of ultrabright, well dispersible and biocompatible fluorescent organic nanoparticles (FONs) with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties through combination of esterification and ring-opening reaction. The hydroxyl groups of Pluronic F127 was first reacted with the chloride of trimellitic anhydride chloride (TMAC), and its anhydride groups were further reacted with the amino groups of amino-terminated AIE dye (PhNH2) through ring-opening reaction. The optical properties, biocompatibility as well as cell uptake behavior of these obtained AIE-active nanoparticles (F127-TMAC-PhNH2 FONs) were examined by a series of characterization techniques and assays. We demonstrated that uniform organic nanoparticles with high water dispersibility, strong luminescence and desirable biocompatibility can be facilely obtained, which are promising for biological imaging applications. More importantly, a number of carboxyl groups were introduced into these AIE-active nanoparticles, which can be further utilized for further conjugation reaction and carrying anticancer drugs such as cisplatin. Therefore, the strategy of described in this work should be a simple and useful route for fabrication of multifunctional AIE-active luminescent nanotheranostic systems.