The bright fluorescence of non-aromatic molecules in aqueous solution originates from pH-induced CTE behavior

Yunqian Ma; Hao Zhang; Kexin Wang; Duxia Cao; Mingkai Wang; Ruifang Guan; Chuanjian Zhou

doi:10.1016/j.saa.2021.119604

The bright fluorescence of non-aromatic molecules in aqueous solution originates from pH-induced CTE behavior

Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc. 2021 Jun 5:254:119604. doi: 10.1016/j.saa.2021.119604. Epub 2021 Feb 23.

Authors

Yunqian Ma¹, Hao Zhang², Kexin Wang¹, Duxia Cao¹, Mingkai Wang³, Ruifang Guan⁴, Chuanjian Zhou⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan, Shandong 250022, China.
² Research Institute of Polymer Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan 250061, China.
³ School of Biological Science and Technology, University of Jinan, Jinan, Shandong 250022, China. Electronic address: wkaiming79@163.com.
⁴ School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan, Shandong 250022, China. Electronic address: mse_guanrf@ujn.edu.cn.
⁵ Research Institute of Polymer Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan 250061, China. Electronic address: zhouchuanjian@sdu.edu.cn.

PMID: 33676346
DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2021.119604

Abstract

Non-aromatic fluorescent materials with inherent visible light emission have received widespread attention. In this work, a biomimetic fluorescent molecule CA-AEP with a dipeptide structure is introduced. CA-AEP will emit bright biomimetic fluorescence in aqueous solutions by adjusting the pH, which has never been reported. This unique luminescent characteristic can be rationalized by the clustering-triggered emission (CTE) mechanism. In addition, CA-AEP can be used to monitor the maximum dynamic pH in the alkaline range of aqueous systems. Finally, the cytotoxicity assay to A549 cells showed that CA-AEP was non-toxic. Therefore, this work provides a new type of luminogen, which has potential application prospects in the field of environmental monitoring and cell biology.

Keywords: Biological cell imaging; Clustering-triggered emission; Extremely alkaline pH; Intrinsic fluorescence emission; Luminescence mechanism; Non-aromatic fluorescent materials.

MeSH terms

Cluster Analysis
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Light
Luminescence*
Water*

Substances

Water