Conjugated polymers have great potential applications in bioimaging. However, the aggregation of conjugated polymers driven by electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions in aqueous media results in the reduction of photoluminescence quantum efficiency. In present work we synthesized a carboxylate gemini surfactant [sodium 2,6-didodecyl-4-hydroxy-2,6-diaza-1,7-heptanedicarboxylate (SDHC)] to adjust the aggregation behaviors and fluorescence properties of conjugated polymers [anionic poly(2-methoxy-5-propyloxy sulfonate phenylene vinylene) (MPS-PPV) and cationic poly(3-alkoxy-4-methylthiophene) (PMNT)]. This gemini surfactant shows very low critical micellar concentration (CMC) in aqueous solution and forms vesicles above CMC. In neutral and acidic conditions, MPS-PPV combines with the SDHC vesicles mainly via hydrophobic interactions and forms the aggregates in which the photoluminescence quantum efficiency of MPS-PPV is highly enhanced from 0.1% to 27%. As to PMNT, the molecules are located in the bilayer of SDHC vesicles through both electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions, and this structure prevents the production and release of reactive oxygen species. Moreover, SDHC is nontoxic and can effectively decrease the dark- and photocytotoxicity of MPS-PPV and PMNT, laying a good foundation for their bioimaging application. The living cell imaging indicates that the surfactant/conjugated polymer aggregates can stain the MCF-7 cells with main location in the lysosome. This work provides insight into how to improve the fluorescence properties and bioimaging applications of conjugated polymers by surfactants.

Controlling deposition and spread of high-speed impacting water droplets on superhydrophobic surface is crucial in many applications. Modulating surfactant self-assembled structures has been recently proved to be an efficient strategy....

speed droplets on inverted surfaces is important to many fundamental scientific principles and technological applications. For example, in pesticide spraying to target pests and diseases emerging on abaxial side of leaves, the downward rebound and gravity of the droplets make the deposition exceedingly difficult on hydrophobic/superhydrophobic leaf underside, causing serious pesticide waste and environmental pollution. Here, a series of bile salt/cationic surfactant coacervates are developed to attain efficient deposition on the inverted surfaces of diverse hydrophobic/superhydrophobic characteristics. The coacervates have abundant nanoscale hydrophilic/hydrophobic domains and intrinsic network-like microstructures, which endow them with efficient encapsulation of various solutes and strong adhesion to surface micro/nanostructures. Thus, the coacervates with low viscosity achieve high-efficient deposition on superhydrophobic abaxial-side of tomato leaves and inverted artificial surfaces with a water contact angle from 170°to 124°, much better than that of commercial agricultural adjuvants. Intriguingly, the compactness of network-like structures dominantly controls adhesion force and deposition efficiency, and the most crowded one leads to the most efficient deposition. The tunable coacervates can help comprehensively understand the complex dynamic deposition, and provide innovative carriers for depositing sprayed pesticides on abaxial and adaxial sides of leaves, thereby potentially reducing pesticide use and promoting sustainable agriculture.