Tetraphenylethene end-capped polyethylenimine fluorescent nanoparticles for cell imaging.

Water soluble tetraphenylethene-based (TPE) aggregation-induced emission fluorescent organic nanoparticles (FONs) were facilely prepared via Schiff base condensation with polyethylenimine (PEI) and subsequent reduction. The obtained TPE-PEI FONs were characterized by a series of techniques including H-NMR, C-NMR, gel permeation chromatography, UV absorption spectra, fluorescence spectra, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, size distribution and zeta potential measurement, and transmission electron microscopy. Biocompatibility evaluation and cell imaging of TPE-PEI FONs were further explored. We demonstrated that such FONs showed intense fluorescence, spherical morphology and excellent biocompatibility, making them very suitable for cell imaging application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]