Themed collection Materials Chemistry of Fluorescence Bioimaging
Steric protection of near-infrared fluorescent dyes for enhanced bioimaging
Steric protection of a long-wavelength dye, by covalent steric appendage or non-covalent encapsulation, produces enhanced photostability, increased fluorescence brightness, decreased self-aggregation, and superior pharmacokinetic profile.
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024,12, 8310-8320
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TB01281J
Recent advances in fluorescent probes for fatty liver imaging by detecting lipid droplets
This review summarizes various probes for imaging LDs in the fatty liver process using different excitation imaging modes and emission wavelengths, as well as analyzing the achievements, challenges and future development trends in this field.
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024,12, 10149-10162
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TB01741B
AI-driven precision subcellular navigation with fluorescent probes
AI-driven precision subcellular navigation with fluorescent probes.
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024, Advance Article
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TB01835D
Dual-/multi-organelle-targeted AIE probes associated with oxidative stress for biomedical applications
This review summarizes the recent advancements in biomedical applications of dual-/multi-organelle-targeted aggregation-induced emission (AIE) probes, focusing on their in situ induction of oxidative stress.
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024,12, 8812-8824
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TB01440E
Sulfur–tetrazine as highly efficient visible-light activatable photo-trigger for designing photoactivatable fluorescence biomolecules
Light-activated fluorescence represents a potent tool for investigating subcellular structures and dynamics, offering enhanced control over the temporal and spatial aspects of the fluorescence signal.
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024, Advance Article
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TB01817F
Guanidiniocarbonyl-pyrrole functionalized cucurbit[7]uril derivative as a cytomembrane disruptor for synergistic antibacterial therapy
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024, Accepted Manuscript
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TB01840K
A versatile fluorescent probe for hydrogen peroxide in serotonergic neurons of living brains of mice with depression
Fluorescent probes target serotonin transporter and discern H2O2 in serotonergic neurons in living brains of mice.
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024,12, 10241-10247
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TB01828A
Development of a urea-bond cleavage reaction induced by nitric oxide for fluorescence imaging
A NO-induced urea-bond cleavage reaction is developed and utilized to generally construct fluorescent probes for imaging NO in living systems.
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024,12, 10248-10257
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TB01462F
A DNA nanowire based-DNAzyme walker for amplified imaging of microRNA in tumor cells
We propose a DNAzyme walker constructed from aptamer-modified DNA nanowires, which can efficiently penetrate target cells without the assistance of non-DNA substances. This strategy enables sensitive and effective imaging of miRNA in tumor cells.
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024, Advance Article
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TB01703J
The cyano positional isomerism strategy for constructing mitochondria-targeted AIEgens with type I reactive oxygen species generation capability
Based on the cyano positional isomerism strategy, a cationic AIEgen was developed, which can specifically stain mitochondria, and ablate cancer cells through potent type I photodynamic therapy both in vitro and in multicellular tumor spheroid models.
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024, Advance Article
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TB01847H
A mitochondria targeting, de novo designed, aggregation-induced emission probe for selective detection of neurotoxic amyloid-β aggregates
A mitochondria targeting, de novo designed, AIE-based Cou-AIE-TPP+ probe for monitoring Aβ aggregation kinetics, imaging Aβ aggregates, and detecting mitochondrial morphology change and dysfunction during Aβ-induced neurotoxicity.
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024, Advance Article
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TB01337A
Imaging of ONOO− fluctuations during drug-induced liver/kidney injury in vitro and in vivo via a dicyanoisophorone-based NIR fluorescent probe with a large Stokes shift
Current clinical indicators for assessing liver/kidney injury are functional rather than injury indicators, which may cause some delays in the diagnosis of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) and kidney injury (DIKI).
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024,12, 10004-10011
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TB01446D
Responsive Nanoprobe for Ratiometric Florescence Detection of Hydroxyl Radical in Macrophage Polarization
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024, Accepted Manuscript
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TB01934B
A simple hydrogen peroxide-activatable Bodipy for tumor imaging and type I/II photodynamic therapy
A H2O2-activatable Bodipy with simultaneous type I and type II photosensitization was designed for tumor imaging and therapy.
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024, Advance Article
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TB01650E
A dual-functional photosensitizer for mitochondria-targeting photodynamic therapy and synchronous polarity monitoring
A dual-functional photosensitizer was developed, exhibiting potent phototoxicity and sensitivity to polarity changes.
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024, Advance Article
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TB01872A
Structural isomerism engineering regulates molecular AIE behavior and application in visualizing endogenous hydrogen sulfide
The isomerization effect on coumarin-based AIEgens was systematically analyzed and further applied to H2S detection.
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024, Advance Article
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TB01617C
Organelle-resolved imaging of formaldehyde reveals its spatiotemporal dynamics
Organelle-resolved imaging of formaldehyde reveals the different responses of various organelles to the same cell stressor.
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024,12, 9592-9599
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TB01317D
Assembly-enhanced indocyanine green nanoparticles for fluorescence imaging-guided photothermal therapy
Indocyanine green nanoparticles are formed through co-assembly with an amino acid derivative, achieving both its fluorescence and photothermal properties on nanoplatforms for fluorescence imaging-guided photothermal therapy against tumors.
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024, Advance Article
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TB01604A
Recognition of specific monosaccharides by fluorescence change through the suppression effect on excited-state intermolecular proton transfer reactions
Cyclodextrins, saccharides, and ethanol were examined to assess the effects of hydroxy groups on the ESPT reaction. Differences in the fluorescent behaviors indicate varying interactions between the hydroxy compounds and complexes.
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024, Advance Article
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TB01745E
A fluorescent ratiometric potassium sensor based on IPG4-silica microparticles for selective detection and fluorescence imaging of potassium cations
Potassium cations (K+) play key roles in organisms. Fluorescent ratiometric microsensors for K+ were synthesized using silica microparticles. Their spectral and physicochemical properties were fully investigated for K+ detection and tracking.
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024, Advance Article
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TB01047G
Proximity labeling expansion microscopy (PL-ExM) evaluates interactome labeling techniques
Proximity labeling expansion microscopy (PL-ExM) visualizes superresolution structures of interactome on widely accessible light microscopes, enabling the assessment of the precision and efficiency of proximity labeling techniques.
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024,12, 8335-8348
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TB00516C
An excimer process induced a turn-on fluorescent probe for detection of ultra-low concentration of mercury ions
We successfully developed naphthalene-based fluorescent probe 1 for detection of ultra-low concentrations of Hg2+via the formation of excimer, which resulted in emitted fluorescence.
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024,12, 8376-8382
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TB00934G
Study of transient absorption spectroscopy of a D–π–A structure aggregation-induced emission luminogen and its photodynamic therapy application
Transient absorption spectroscopy has revealed that AIEgens exhibit a more rapid and facile excited-state molecular motion in the solution state compared to the aggregate state, implying the predominance of nonradiative decay in the solution state.
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024,12, 8349-8356
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TB01175A
Dopamine sensing by fluorescent carbon nanoparticles synthesized using artichoke extract
New fluorescent carbon nanoparticles, obtained using artichoke extract, have been used for the ultrasensitive (sub-nanomolar) and selective detection of dopamine in artificial saliva samples.
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024,12, 7826-7836
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TB00651H
A small-molecule probe to decipher stress-induced ER microenvironments and ER-Golgi communication
A small molecule organic fluorophore has been developed to monitor the micropolarity inside endoplasmic reticulum in homeostatic and non-homeostatic conditions and visualize ER to Golgi transport.
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024,12, 7848-7857
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TB00572D
Clearly fluorescent delineating ER+ breast tumor incisal edge and identifying tiny metastatic tumor foci at high resolution
A turn-on estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) NIR fluorescent probe NB-TAM was prepared and successfully applied to clearly delineate the ER+ breast tumor incisal margin and identify very tiny metastatic tumor foci at high resolution.
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024,12, 7135-7142
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TB00558A
Development of a specific fluorescent probe to detect advanced glycation end products (AGEs)
A novel fluorescent probe, AGO, systematically detects advanced glycation end products involved in aging.
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024,12, 6155-6163
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TB00590B
Structure–activity relationships of aniline-based squaraines for distinguishable staining and bright two-photon fluorescence bioimaging in plant cells
Regulation effects of three aniline-based squaraines were investigated. The first expression of distinct tissue labelling and high-resolution 3D reconstruction in the onion and plant cells induced by the subtle structure changes was further evaluated.
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024,12, 5350-5359
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TB00400K
Lysosomal-targeted fluorescent probe based pH regulating reactivity for tracking cysteine dynamics under oxidative stress
The ability to detect and visualize cellular events and associated biological analytes is essential for the understanding of their physiological and pathological functions.
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024,12, 5157-5161
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4TB00478G
About this collection
Fluorescence imaging is a predominant method employed in biological and biomedical research. This powerful technique utilises fluorescent probes that emit light upon excitation, enabling non-invasive and real-time observation of specific targets within the living system. It assists researchers in localizing specific proteins in tissue, visualizing subcellular structures, studying cell organization, monitoring the bio-microenvironment, and even conducting image-guided surgery. From fundamental biological studies to biomedical applications, fluorescence bioimaging continues to facilitate a more comprehensive understanding of the complex biological world and provide us with powerful tools for diagnosis or treatment.
This themed collection, guest edited by Dr Sijie Chen (The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Karolinska Institutet), Prof. Tony D. James (University of Bath), Dr Apurba L. Koner (IISER Bhopal) and Prof. Ben Zhong Tang (The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen), aims to provide a platform for recent developments in this rapidly evolving field of fluorescence bioimaging with topics including, but not limited to, fluorescence bioimaging with novel probes, design or synthetic strategies of fluorescent probes, theoretical understanding of fluorescent probe properties and working mechanisms, and new insights into the materials chemistry of fluorescence bioimaging. We hope that readers find this themed collection informative and useful.