White light-excited organic room-temperature phosphorescence for improved in vivo bioimaging

Abstract Organic phosphorescence materials offer significant advantages for bioimaging applications. However, most of these materials are excited exclusively by ultraviolet (UV) light, which poses risks to living organisms. Herein, six donor–acceptor-type compounds incorporating triazine groups are...

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Main Authors: Lutong Zhang, Jisen Li, Yifan Zhang, Wenbo Dai, Yufan Zhang, Xue Gao, Miaochang Liu, Huayue Wu, Xiaobo Huang, Yunxiang Lei, Dan Ding
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-04-01
Series:Nature Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59367-0
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author Lutong Zhang
Jisen Li
Yifan Zhang
Wenbo Dai
Yufan Zhang
Xue Gao
Miaochang Liu
Huayue Wu
Xiaobo Huang
Yunxiang Lei
Dan Ding
author_facet Lutong Zhang
Jisen Li
Yifan Zhang
Wenbo Dai
Yufan Zhang
Xue Gao
Miaochang Liu
Huayue Wu
Xiaobo Huang
Yunxiang Lei
Dan Ding
author_sort Lutong Zhang
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Organic phosphorescence materials offer significant advantages for bioimaging applications. However, most of these materials are excited exclusively by ultraviolet (UV) light, which poses risks to living organisms. Herein, six donor–acceptor-type compounds incorporating triazine groups are designed as guests within doped systems. White-light excitable phosphorescent guests enable doped materials to show efficient afterglow under white-light excitation. By leveraging the ability of white-light to penetrate biological tissues, a bioimaging mode in which the materials are first concentrated within the organism and then excited was developed, yielding superior imaging effects compared with the traditional method in which materials are first excited and then concentrated. Furthermore, these materials are applied in imaging diagnosis of atherosclerosis plaques (male Apoe− / − mice) and intestinal diseases (female BALB/c-nude mice), as well as in navigation for in situ liver tumor surgery (female BALB/c-nude mice), achieving excellent imaging outcomes. This work addresses the limitations of phosphorescent materials that rely on UV-light, significantly enhancing their potential for practical applications in clinical imaging.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2041-1723
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publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher Nature Portfolio
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series Nature Communications
spelling doaj-art-cb717e02f7e140b59238f821758e7ba22025-08-20T03:52:19ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-04-0116111310.1038/s41467-025-59367-0White light-excited organic room-temperature phosphorescence for improved in vivo bioimagingLutong Zhang0Jisen Li1Yifan Zhang2Wenbo Dai3Yufan Zhang4Xue Gao5Miaochang Liu6Huayue Wu7Xiaobo Huang8Yunxiang Lei9Dan Ding10School of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Wenzhou UniversityFrontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, MOE Key Laboratory of Bioactive Materials, and College of Life Sciences, Nankai UniversitySchool of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Wenzhou UniversitySchool of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Wenzhou UniversityFrontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, MOE Key Laboratory of Bioactive Materials, and College of Life Sciences, Nankai UniversitySchool of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Wenzhou UniversitySchool of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Wenzhou UniversitySchool of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Wenzhou UniversitySchool of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Wenzhou UniversitySchool of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Wenzhou UniversityFrontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, MOE Key Laboratory of Bioactive Materials, and College of Life Sciences, Nankai UniversityAbstract Organic phosphorescence materials offer significant advantages for bioimaging applications. However, most of these materials are excited exclusively by ultraviolet (UV) light, which poses risks to living organisms. Herein, six donor–acceptor-type compounds incorporating triazine groups are designed as guests within doped systems. White-light excitable phosphorescent guests enable doped materials to show efficient afterglow under white-light excitation. By leveraging the ability of white-light to penetrate biological tissues, a bioimaging mode in which the materials are first concentrated within the organism and then excited was developed, yielding superior imaging effects compared with the traditional method in which materials are first excited and then concentrated. Furthermore, these materials are applied in imaging diagnosis of atherosclerosis plaques (male Apoe− / − mice) and intestinal diseases (female BALB/c-nude mice), as well as in navigation for in situ liver tumor surgery (female BALB/c-nude mice), achieving excellent imaging outcomes. This work addresses the limitations of phosphorescent materials that rely on UV-light, significantly enhancing their potential for practical applications in clinical imaging.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59367-0
spellingShingle Lutong Zhang
Jisen Li
Yifan Zhang
Wenbo Dai
Yufan Zhang
Xue Gao
Miaochang Liu
Huayue Wu
Xiaobo Huang
Yunxiang Lei
Dan Ding
White light-excited organic room-temperature phosphorescence for improved in vivo bioimaging
Nature Communications
title White light-excited organic room-temperature phosphorescence for improved in vivo bioimaging
title_full White light-excited organic room-temperature phosphorescence for improved in vivo bioimaging
title_fullStr White light-excited organic room-temperature phosphorescence for improved in vivo bioimaging
title_full_unstemmed White light-excited organic room-temperature phosphorescence for improved in vivo bioimaging
title_short White light-excited organic room-temperature phosphorescence for improved in vivo bioimaging
title_sort white light excited organic room temperature phosphorescence for improved in vivo bioimaging
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59367-0
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