writer：Sayed Sir Sayed, Hao-Ran Jia;Yao-Wen Jiang, Zhu, Ya-Xuan. Liang Ma, Feifei Yin, et al.
keywords：AIE, Imaging, Plasma membrane
source：期刊
specific source：Journal of Materials Chemistry B 2021, 9 , 4303-4308
Issue time：2021年

Plasma membrane (PM), a fundamental building component of a cell, is responsible for a variety of cell functions and biological processes. However, it is still challenging to acquire its morphology and morphological variation information via an effective approach. Herein, we report a PM imaging study regarding an aggregation-induced emission luminogen (AIEgen) called tetraphenylethylene–naphthalimide+ (TPE–NIM+), which is derived from our previously reported tetraphenylethylene–naphthalimide (TPE–NIM). The designed AIEgen (TPE–NIM+) shows significant characteristics of ultrafast staining, high photostability, wash-free property, and long retention time at the PM, which can structurally be correlated with its positively charged quaternary amine and hydrophobic moiety. TPE–NIM+ is further applied for staining of different cell lines, proving its universal PM imaging capability. Most importantly, we demonstrate that TPE–NIM+ can clearly delineate the contours of densely packed living cells with high cytocompatibility. Therefore, TPE–NIM+ as a PM imaging reagent superior to currently available commercial PM dyes shall find a number of applications in the biological/biomedical fields and even beyond.

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2021/tb/d1tb00049g#!divAbstract