Novel tetraphenylethylene diol amphiphile with aggregation-induced emission: self-assembly, cell imaging and tagging property

Abstract

In this study, we reported a novel tetraphenylethylene diol amphiphile (2) with aggregation-induced emission property which self-assembled to form unique 3D cubic superstructure. This TPE amphiphile with strong bluish green emission exhibited high biocompatibility and improved cellular uptake. Moreover, this highly fluorescent molecule was conjugated with gold nanoparticles and used as a fluorescent tagging agent. Altogether, results supported the cell-imaging and fluorescent tagging properties of tetraphenylethylene diol amphiphile.

Keywords: Aggregation-induced emission; Amphiphile; Bio-imaging; Fluorescent tagging; Gold nanoparticles; Self-assembly; Tetraphenylethylene.