An AIE‐Based Probe for Rapid and Ultrasensitive Imaging of Plasma Membranes in Biosystems

Abstract

The abnormality of the plasma membrane (PM) is an important biomarker for cell status and many diseases. Hence, visualizing the PM, especially in complex systems, is an emerging field in the life sciences, especially in low‐resource settings. Herein, we developed a water‐soluble PM‐specific probe utilizing electrostatic and hydrophobic interaction strategies with aggregation‐induced emission as the signal output. The probe could image the PM with many advanced features (wash‐free, ultrafast staining process, excellent PM specificity, and good biocompatibility), which were demonstrated by the PM imaging of neurons. The probe allowed for the first time the imaging of erythrocytes in the complex brain environment through a fluorescence‐based method. Moreover, the PM of the epidermal and partial view of the eyeball structure of live zebrafish are also revealed.

A Membrane‐Targeting Photosensitizer with Aggregation‐Induced Emission Characteristics for Highly Efficient Photodynamic Combat of Human Coronaviruses

“…[ 34 ] In order to target the envelope of the virus, amphiphilic structure was preferred, mimicking the structure of phospholipid of the membrane. [ 35 ] Based on these considerations, the molecular structure of DTTPB was adopted (Figure 1a), in which triphenylamine (TPA) segment and bithiophene served as the electron donor, the carbon‐carbon double bond functioned as the π‐bridge, and the pyridinium acted as electron acceptor, which constructed a D‐π‐A structure feature. Besides, the donor and π‐bridge of DTTPB were hydrophobic in nature, while the acceptor pyridinium salt with positive charge was hydrophilic, which together would contribute to its targeting to membranes.…”

Unusual light-driven amplification through unexpected regioselective photogeneration of five-membered azaheterocyclic AIEgen

“…Inspired by its positive charge and the previous research, we would like to explore o-TPBQ's potential in bioimaging. 51,52 Firstly, cytotoxicity of o-TPBQ and c 5 -TPBQ was evaluated by by 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, respectively ( Figure S29). For both o-TPBQ and c 5 -TPBQ groups, no significant drop of HeLa cell viability was observed with increased concentration after 24 h incubation, suggesting their acceptable biocompatibility, which provides the precondition in biosystem.…”

Spatiotemporal Visualization of Cell Membrane with Amphiphilic Aggregation-Induced Emission-Active Sensor

“…Accurate imaging of the cell membrane has great importance for tracing cells distribution and reflecting the structural integrity. 37 Considering the positively charged sensor could accumulate to the negative charged cell membrane and long alkyl chain could anchor to the phospholipid bilayers, the QMC12 is expected to highfidelity imaging of cell membrane. In this work, all the designed molecules were evaluated by co-staining with commercial membrane tracker DiO in HeLa cells (human epithelioid cervical carcinoma cells).…”