Hyperbranched Conjugated Polyelectrolytes for Biological Sensing and Imaging

Abstract

Over the recent decades, conjugated polyelectrolytes have attracted great research interests due to their unique physical and chemical properties. In this feature article, we summarize the recent advances of hyperbranched conjugated polyelectrolytes (HCPEs) in biological sensing and imaging applications. The HCPEs possess three-dimensional core-shell architectures with plenty of functional groups at the peripheries. Through further bioconjugation, the obtained functional HCPEs have wide applications in biomolecules sensing in solution, in vitro cell detection and imaging, specific protein detection in live cells, real-time cell apoptosis detection, gene delivery, and in vivo dual-modal fluorescence and magnetic resonance imaging. Some further outlooks are also highlighted at the end of the feature article.

Quadrangular Prism: A Unique Self‐Assembly from Amphiphilic Hyperbranched PMA‐b‐PAA

“…In addition, HBPs with irregular branching structures can be easily synthesized by onepot reaction. Therefore, HBPs [13][14][15][16][17][18] have been developed as attractive alternatives to the well-defi ned dendrimers (perfectly branched structure and monodisperse), which should be obtained by the lengthy stages of stepwise reaction and necessary purifi cation.…”

“…In addition, HBPs with irregular branching structures can be easily synthesized by onepot reaction. Therefore, HBPs [13][14][15][16][17][18] have been developed as attractive alternatives to the well-defi ned dendrimers (perfectly branched structure and monodisperse), which should be obtained by the lengthy stages of stepwise reaction and necessary purifi cation.Among the numerous studies on HBPs, the selfassembly of amphiphilic HBPs is one of the important applications, which formed many impressive supramolecular aggregates [ 7 ] from zero-dimension (0D) to three-dimension (3D), such as micelles, vesicles, fi bers, tubes, rods, membranes, and gels. Compared with the self-assembly of linear amphiphilic copolymers, the delicate HBP structures have exhibited unique behaviors [ 19 ] in the self-assembly mechanism, morphology varieties, excellent template ability, and so on.…”

Ligand effect in the synthesis of hyperbranched polymers via copper‐catalyzed azide‐alkyne cycloaddition polymerization (CuAACP)

“…Dendritic polymers, including dendrimers and hyperbranched polymers, attract broad research interest because of their three‐dimensional structures, multiple periphery groups, and potential applications in catalysts, sensors, hybrid nanoparticles, and drug delivery . Although dendrimers possess monodisperse and highly symmetric structure, their application is greatly hindered by tedious synthetic procedures and inefficient purification steps .…”

“…INTRODUCTION Dendritic polymers, including dendrimers and hyperbranched polymers, attract broad research interest because of their three-dimensional structures, multiple periphery groups, and potential applications in catalysts, sensors, hybrid nanoparticles, and drug delivery. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] Although dendrimers possess monodisperse and highly symmetric structure, their application is greatly hindered by tedious synthetic procedures and inefficient purification steps. 14,15 In comparison, hyperbranched polymers are generally prepared via facile one-pot polymerization methods, although their structures often have little control, which profoundly affects their physical properties and their advanced applications.…”

Benzothiadiazole‐Containing Conjugated Polyelectrolytes for Biological Sensing and Imaging

“…Therefore, they serve as versatile building blocks for the construction of highly sensitive chemo‐/biosensors . More recently, CPEs have been reported as promising biological imaging reagents with good photostability and low cytotoxicity …”