Engineering bright J-aggregates through manipulation of electron acceptor for in vivo NIR-II fluorescence imaging
Fluorophores emitting in the second near-infrared window (NIR-II, 900–1700[Formula: see text]nm) allow for high-resolution deep-tissue bioimaging owing to minimal tissue scattering. Although J-aggregation offers a promising approach to developing long-wavelength emitters, the scarcity of J-type back...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Scientific Publishing
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Journal of Innovative Optical Health Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/10.1142/S1793545825410020 |
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| Summary: | Fluorophores emitting in the second near-infrared window (NIR-II, 900–1700[Formula: see text]nm) allow for high-resolution deep-tissue bioimaging owing to minimal tissue scattering. Although J-aggregation offers a promising approach to developing long-wavelength emitters, the scarcity of J-type backbones and reliable design principles limits their application in biological imaging. Here, we introduce a strategy for engineering high-brightness NIR-II J-aggregated fluorophores by incorporating electron-withdrawing substituents into a fused-ring backbone. These substituents modulate the electrostatic potential (ESP) distribution across the conjugated backbone, reducing both electrostatic repulsion and intermolecular distance, which promotes ordered J-aggregation. As a result, Y8 aggregate (Y8 nanoparticles) exhibits an outstanding fluorescence quantum yield of up to 12.9% and strong near-infrared absorption in aqueous solution for high-performance NIR-II fluorescence imaging in vivo. This work not only presents a novel J-type backbone but also advances the understanding of the structure–property relationship critical to designing NIR-II J-aggregates. |
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| ISSN: | 1793-5458 1793-7205 |