Journal
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
Volume 13, Issue 43, Pages 51351-51361Publisher
AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c14690
Keywords
covalent organic frameworks; pH detection; pH sensor; cell imaging; zebrafish imaging
Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [11727810, 21974050]
- Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai [18ZR1411300, 20ZR1418000]
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
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The study focused on designing a series of COFs for pH sensing in living cells, with COF2 showing high crystallinity and suitable fluorescence properties, providing superior linear pH response in the range from 5.0 to 8.0. The modified PDL@COF2 was successfully used as a fluorescent probe for bioimaging and pH sensing.
Precise modulation of pH in living cells plays a vital role in the study of many diseases, such as cancer and rheumatoid arthritis. Here, a series of imine-linked covalent organic frameworks (COFs) were rationally designed and developed for pH sensing in tumor cells and zebrafish. Four monomers were chosen to synthesize COFs (COF1-COF4) with different pK(a) by a simple orthogonal combination through condensation reaction. The as-obtained COFs exhibited a sensitive pH-dependent fluorescence response compared to their building blocks. Among them, COF2 possessed a high crystallinity, excellent fluorescence, and suitable pK(a) for biosensing. For bioimaging applications, COF2 was modified with poly-D-lysine (PDL) to improve its biocompatibility and endocytosis efficiency. After that, PDL-modified COF2 (PDL@COF2) was used as a novel fluorescence probe with a superior linear pH response over the range from 5.0 to 8.0 due to its fully reversible protonation and deprotonation. The fluorescent PDL@COF2 was further employed as a good candidate for pH imaging in tumor cells and zebrafish. The as-constructed environment-sensitive fluorescent COFs have greatly expanded the applications of COFs in the biological area.
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