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Bright Near-Infrared-Emitting Organic Nanoparticles Based on Small-Molecule Ionic Isolation Lattices

Chen, Junsheng ; Juhl, Karina ; Zhang, Fuxue ; He, Yanmei LU ; Flood, Amar H. ; Kjaer, Andreas and Laursen, Bo W. (2025) In ACS Applied Nano Materials 8(41). p.19739-19747
Abstract

Near infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging has received significant attention. However, it remains challenging to develop NIR emitters with a high brightness. Herein, we report a supramolecular approach to formulate NIR fluorescent molecular nanoparticles from cationic NIR fluorophores and cyanostar receptors using their charge-by-charge packing in small-molecule ionic isolation lattices (SMILES). Four types of cationic NIR fluorophores were successfully used to form NIR SMILES nanoparticles. The NIR nanoparticles show fluorescence quantum yields (FQYs) of ∼1% and are over 60 times brighter than those of single fluorophores. Four different surface capping agents were examined and found to generate stable nanoparticles with slight changes... (More)

Near infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging has received significant attention. However, it remains challenging to develop NIR emitters with a high brightness. Herein, we report a supramolecular approach to formulate NIR fluorescent molecular nanoparticles from cationic NIR fluorophores and cyanostar receptors using their charge-by-charge packing in small-molecule ionic isolation lattices (SMILES). Four types of cationic NIR fluorophores were successfully used to form NIR SMILES nanoparticles. The NIR nanoparticles show fluorescence quantum yields (FQYs) of ∼1% and are over 60 times brighter than those of single fluorophores. Four different surface capping agents were examined and found to generate stable nanoparticles with slight changes in FQY. Femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy reveals the low FQY originates from nonradiative decay introduced by interfluorophore coupling. Introduction of inert molecular cations into the SMILES structures raises the FQY to ∼7%. The NIR SMILES nanoparticles were used for in vivo tumor imaging and are thus promising for bioimaging applications.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
cyanostar macrocycles, fluorescent dyes, fluorescent nanoparticles, in vivo imaging, NIR, SMILES
in
ACS Applied Nano Materials
volume
8
issue
41
pages
9 pages
publisher
The American Chemical Society (ACS)
external identifiers
  • scopus:105018918092
ISSN
2574-0970
DOI
10.1021/acsanm.5c02607
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
5efe6bc1-41b5-4da2-87b0-a852b4ceebda
date added to LUP
2025-12-16 13:56:11
date last changed
2025-12-16 13:57:27
@article{5efe6bc1-41b5-4da2-87b0-a852b4ceebda,
  abstract     = {{<p>Near infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging has received significant attention. However, it remains challenging to develop NIR emitters with a high brightness. Herein, we report a supramolecular approach to formulate NIR fluorescent molecular nanoparticles from cationic NIR fluorophores and cyanostar receptors using their charge-by-charge packing in small-molecule ionic isolation lattices (SMILES). Four types of cationic NIR fluorophores were successfully used to form NIR SMILES nanoparticles. The NIR nanoparticles show fluorescence quantum yields (FQYs) of ∼1% and are over 60 times brighter than those of single fluorophores. Four different surface capping agents were examined and found to generate stable nanoparticles with slight changes in FQY. Femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy reveals the low FQY originates from nonradiative decay introduced by interfluorophore coupling. Introduction of inert molecular cations into the SMILES structures raises the FQY to ∼7%. The NIR SMILES nanoparticles were used for in vivo tumor imaging and are thus promising for bioimaging applications.</p>}},
  author       = {{Chen, Junsheng and Juhl, Karina and Zhang, Fuxue and He, Yanmei and Flood, Amar H. and Kjaer, Andreas and Laursen, Bo W.}},
  issn         = {{2574-0970}},
  keywords     = {{cyanostar macrocycles; fluorescent dyes; fluorescent nanoparticles; in vivo imaging; NIR; SMILES}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{41}},
  pages        = {{19739--19747}},
  publisher    = {{The American Chemical Society (ACS)}},
  series       = {{ACS Applied Nano Materials}},
  title        = {{Bright Near-Infrared-Emitting Organic Nanoparticles Based on Small-Molecule Ionic Isolation Lattices}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.5c02607}},
  doi          = {{10.1021/acsanm.5c02607}},
  volume       = {{8}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}