Fluorescent Unimolecular Conjugated Polymeric Micelles for Biological Applications

Over the past decades, fluorescent conjugated polymers with unique optical properties have been well developed and widely applied in biological science. However, the emission of conjugated polymers is weakened dramatically in an aggregate state due to the strong intermolecular interaction from hydrophobic conjugated segments. Recently, the unimolecular conjugated polymeric micelles (UCPMs), consisting of hydrophobic conjugated polymer core and flexible hydrophilic polymer shell, have become one of effective ways to solve the fluorescence quenching in aqueous medium. In this progress report, the typical fabrication methods, self-assembly characteristics, and optical properties of UCPMs are summarized and then their current advances in various biomedical fields, including living cell imaging, drug release monitoring, target protein labeling, gene transfection, bacterial detection, and DNA sensors, are discussed.