Single-Chromophore-Based Photoswitchable Nanoparticles Enable Dual-Alternating-Color Fluorescence for Unambiguous Live Cell Imaging

摘要

We have developed a class of spiropyran dyes and their fluorescence colors can be reversibly photoswitched from red color to green, blue, or nearly dark, thus alternating between two colors. Such individual dyes emit either one color or the other, but not both simultaneously. These photoswitchable dyes-enabled nanoparticles, however, emit either one pure color or a combination of both colors because the nanoparticle fluorescence originates from multiple dyes therein. As a result, the nanoparticle shines >30 times brighter than the state-of-the-art organic dyes such as fluorescein. Interestingly, these copolymer nanoparticles exhibit tunable non-specific interactions with live cells and nanoparticles containing properly balanced butyl acrylate and acrylamide monomers render essentially very little non-specific binding to live cells. Decorated with HMGA1 protein, these optically switchable dual-color nanoparticles undergo endocytosis and unambiguously identify themselves from fluorescence interference including autofluorescence, thus enabling a new tool for live cell imaging.