Tuning the Emission of Semiconducting Polymer Dots from Green to Near-Infrared by Alternating Donor Monomers and Their Applications for in Vivo Biological Imaging

Abstract

Semiconducting polymer dots (Pdots) recently have emerged as a new class of extraordinarily bright fluorescent probes with promising applications in biological imaging and sensing. Herein multicolor semiconducting polymer nanoparticles (Pdots) were designed using benzothiadiazole (BT) as the acceptor, and various types of donors were incorporated to modulate their emission wavelengths. Specific cellular targeting and in vivo biotoxicity as well as microangiography imaging on zebrafish indicated these BT-based Pdots are promising candidates for biological applications.