Probing the Interactions Between Anthanthrene Derivatives and Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) Through Aggregation Induced Emission

Abstract

Anthanthrene derivatives grafted with NHS‐ester groups on their side chains were found to interact with bovine serum albumins and show aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) characteristics in physiological conditions. While these anthanthrene compounds show very low emission profile in PBS buffer, a significant fluorescence turn‐on behaviour (up to 3.5‐fold) with emission in the red region was achieved upon binding to BSA, suggesting potential use as fluorescent labels in biological fluorescence sensing applications.