Ultrastable Near-Infrared Aggregation-Induced Emission Nanoparticles as a Fluorescent Probe: Long-Term Tumor Monitoring and Lipid Droplet Tracking

Effective real-time tumor monitoring and cell tracking are of great importance for precise diagnosis and therapy of tumors, and also for the surveillance of biological processes. In this study, a new organic fluorescent nanoprobe (named TPATBT NPs) with unique aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics has been obtained for the first time via facile synthesis to achieve real-time and long-term monitoring in living cells. The advantages of TPATBT NPs include small size (similar to 80 nm), a large Stokes shift (similar to 150 nm), high stability, good dispersibility in aqueous media, and biocompatibility. In addition, such NPs have showed excellent bioimaging performance and unusual long-term tumor monitoring properties. The red fluorescence signals inside MDA-MB-231 cells last for longer than 10 generations (18 days). Moreover, the cellular uptake of TPATBT NPs has been found to highly rely on energy-dependent endocytosis and clathrin-mediated endocytosis, and to primarily accumulate in lipid droplets (LDs), which can lead to targeted LD cellular imaging and therapy. Thus, TPATBT NPs can work as an excellent fluorescent nanoprobe for long-term monitoring of malignant tumor growth and dynamic biological processes.

Automated summary

The new organic fluorescent nanoprobe TPATBT NPs demonstrates excellent bioimaging performance in living cells, with long-term tumor monitoring capabilities, as well as good biocompatibility and stability.