A potent luminogen with NIR-IIb excitable AIE features for ultradeep brain vascular and hemodynamic three-photon imaging

Jiangao Li; Zhijun Zhang; Xiangquan Deng; Zhourui Xu; Lei Wang; Gaixia Xu; Ke Wang; Dong Wang; Ben Zhong Tang

doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2022.121612

A potent luminogen with NIR-IIb excitable AIE features for ultradeep brain vascular and hemodynamic three-photon imaging

Biomaterials. 2022 Aug:287:121612. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2022.121612. Epub 2022 May 31.

Authors

Jiangao Li¹, Zhijun Zhang², Xiangquan Deng³, Zhourui Xu⁴, Lei Wang², Gaixia Xu⁵, Ke Wang⁶, Dong Wang⁷, Ben Zhong Tang⁸

Affiliations

¹ Center for AIE Research, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Polymer Science and Technology, Guangdong Research Center for Interfacial Engineering of Functional Materials, College of Material Science and Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China; Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Devices and Systems of Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China.
² Center for AIE Research, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Polymer Science and Technology, Guangdong Research Center for Interfacial Engineering of Functional Materials, College of Material Science and Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Devices and Systems of Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China.
⁴ Guangdong Key Laboratory for Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, School of Biomedical Engineering, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China.
⁵ Guangdong Key Laboratory for Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, School of Biomedical Engineering, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China. Electronic address: xugaixia@szu.edu.cn.
⁶ Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Devices and Systems of Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China. Electronic address: kewangfs@szu.edu.cn.
⁷ Center for AIE Research, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Polymer Science and Technology, Guangdong Research Center for Interfacial Engineering of Functional Materials, College of Material Science and Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China. Electronic address: wangd@szu.edu.cn.
⁸ Center for AIE Research, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Polymer Science and Technology, Guangdong Research Center for Interfacial Engineering of Functional Materials, College of Material Science and Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China; School of Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Institute of Aggregate Science and Technology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518172, China. Electronic address: tangbenz@cuhk.edu.cn.

PMID: 35671577
DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2022.121612

Abstract

Three-photon excited fluorescence microscopy (3PEFM) has emerged as a promising protocol for visualizing deep-brain vasculature and hemodynamics. However, the current situation is still far from satisfactory, due to small excitation action cross-section and short excitation wavelength of those previously reported 3PEFM luminogens. Herein, we manipulated molecular engineering by subtly regulating structural planarization/twisting to achieve ingenious integration of large three-photon absorption cross-section, high fluorescence quantum yield, ultralong near-infrared IIb excitation, and aggregation-induced emission features. The resulting molecule, namely DPCZ-BT, exhibited as high as 50.6% of fluorescence quantum yield and as large as 2.0 × 10^-81 cm⁶s²/photon² of three-photon absorption cross-section, which can be excited by 1665 nm fs laser and presents a recorded penetration depth of 1860 μm for deep-brain vascular structural imaging with high spatiotemporal resolution and signal-to-background ratio. Moreover, DPCZ-BT having good photostability and excellent biocompatibility is capable of impressively approaching 1600 μm depth in monitoring red blood cells flow velocity with extraordinary clarity for hemodynamics.

Keywords: Aggregation-induced emission; Deep-brain imaging; Hemodynamic imaging; NIR-IIb excitation; Three-photon fluorescence imaging.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Brain* / blood supply
Brain* / diagnostic imaging
Fluorescent Dyes / chemistry
Hemodynamics
Light
Microscopy, Fluorescence
Optical Imaging
Photons*

Substances

Fluorescent Dyes