Single AIEgen for multiple tasks: Imaging of dual organelles and evaluation of cell viability

Ruoyao Zhang; Guangle Niu; Zhiyang Liu; Joe H C Chau; Huifang Su; Michelle M S Lee; Yuan Gu; Ryan T K Kwok; Jacky W Y Lam; Ben Zhong Tang

doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2020.119924

Single AIEgen for multiple tasks: Imaging of dual organelles and evaluation of cell viability

Biomaterials. 2020 Feb 27:242:119924. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2020.119924. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, Institute for Advanced Study, Institute of Molecular Functional Materials, and Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, 999077, China; HKUST-Shenzhen Research Institute, No. 9 Yuexing 1st RD, South Area, Hi-tech Park, Nanshan, Shenzhen, 518057, China.
² Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, Institute for Advanced Study, Institute of Molecular Functional Materials, and Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, 999077, China.
³ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, 450052, China.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, Institute for Advanced Study, Institute of Molecular Functional Materials, and Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, 999077, China; HKUST-Shenzhen Research Institute, No. 9 Yuexing 1st RD, South Area, Hi-tech Park, Nanshan, Shenzhen, 518057, China; Center for Aggregation-Induced Emission, SCUT-HKUST Joint Research Institute, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China. Electronic address: tangbenz@ust.hk.

PMID: 32145509
DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2020.119924

Abstract

Fully understanding the complicated interplays among various chemical species and organelles is greatly important to unravel the mystery of life. However, fluorescent probes capable of visualizing multiple targets discriminatively are severely deficient, which extremely limit the investigation on intracellular interplays among various species. Towards this end and in consideration of the unique advantages of aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIEgens), here we rationally designed and presented a single AIEgen, named TVQE, bearing lipophilic, cationic and hydrolyzable moieties, and this AIEgen was capable of illuminating mitochondria and lipid droplets with red and blue emission, respectively. In addition, TVQE was successfully used for evaluating cell viability due to its distinct two-color emission changes tuned by esterase-mediated hydrolysis. Of particular importance is that TVQE can selectively differentiate live, early apoptotic, late apoptotic, and dead cells by confocal microscopy and quantify cell viability statistically by flow cytometry.

Keywords: AIEgen; Dual organelles; Evaluating cell viability; Multiple tasks; Two-color emissions.