The Magical Combination of Polymer Science and Fluorometry

摘要

I am very pleased to announce the publication of “Fluorescent Polymers for Sensing and Imaging”. This Special Issue includes a review, thirteen articles, and one communication, which represent the contributions of seventy researchers in nine countries. When I received an invitation to serve as a guest editor from the editorial office of Polymers, I immediately recalled the first time I read the striking results published in 2000 by Swager et al., who reported a dramatic increase in pH sensitivity due to the amplifying effects of polymers [ ]. Before obtaining my PhD in 2002, my research was focused on developing novel fluorescent sensing systems using only small organic molecules. The Swager paper provided fresh insight into polymeric architecture, which often afforded extremely high sensitivity that could not be achieved with small molecules. At the same time, a fluorescent polymeric thermometer with sub-degree temperature resolution was developed in my laboratory [ ], which, amazingly, enabled intracellular thermometry [ ]. Of course, the robustness and multiple functionality of a polymer motif are different advantages.