Fluorescent Copolymers for Bacterial Bioimaging and Viability Detection

Abstract

Novel fluorescent labels with high photostability and high biocompatibility are required for microbiological imaging and detection. Here, we present a green fluorescent polymer chain (GFPC), designed to be nontoxic and water-soluble, for multicolor bioimaging and real-time bacterial viability determination. The copolymer is synthesized using a straightforward one-pot reversible addition–fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization technique. We show that GFPC does not influence bacterial growth and is stable for several hours in a complex growth medium and in the presence of bacteria. GFPC allows the labeling of the bacterial cytoplasm for multicolor bacterial bioimaging applications. It can be used in combination with propidium iodide (PI) to develop a rapid and reliable protocol to distinguish and quantify, in real time, by flow cytometry, live and dead bacteria.

Rapid measurement of waterborne bacterial viability based on difunctional gold nanoprobe

“…This performance is comparable to those of colorimetric bienzyme systems 39 and fluorescence spectroscopy 40 but better than those of bioimaging, 13,41 continuous-wave terahertz transmission imaging 42 and metabolic monitoring. 43 Moreover, the proposed method possesses a fast response, which could be accomplished within 10 min.…”

“…10,11 Fluorescent methods employ various organic dyes to differentiate living and dead bacterial cells. [12][13][14][15] Although rapid and easy to operate, these uorescent methods rely on costly uorescent dyes and require complex instruments such as laser scanning confocal microscopy 16 or ow cytometry, 17 which impede their widespread applications in resource-limited regions. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a rapid, simple, and low-cost method for measuring bacterial viability.…”

Self‐fluorescent polymers for bioimaging

“…Recently, Si and coworkers prepared a green fluorescent copolymer by the RAFT polymerization of a poly(ethylene oxide)methyl ether acrylate (APEG) and acrylic acid (AA) and methacrylate-functionalized BODIPY (BDπ) (Figure 2B). [6] Results revealed that the as-prepared self-fluorescent copolymer with water-soluble, biocompatible, and nontoxic properties can be used for multicolor bioimaging. Apart from the side-chain-type polymer topology, a star-type polymer topology can also be constructed from fluorescent dyes with one reactive group.…”

“…Reproduced with permission. 6 Copyright 2020, American Chemical Society. (C) Schematic synthesis of star-type FMA-containing self-fluorescent polymer.…”

“…[5] In addition, fluorescence bioimaging can be employed for real-time cellular and bacterial visualization as well as viability detection. [6][7][8] To achieve fluorescence bioimaging, different organic or inorganic materials have been developed and employed as fluorescent probes, F I G U R E 1 Schematic illustration of self-fluorescent polymers with various topologies and fluorescence chromophores for bioimaging including common fluorescent dyes, quantum dots, and proteins. [9][10][11][12] However, the resultant water solubility, toxicity, and rapid photobleaching restrict their extensive applications in biology and medicine.…”