A new fluorescent nanoparticle based on lipid-modified cationic poly(fluorenylene phenylene) (PFPL) was prepared and characterized. The PFPL is amphiphilic and has two unique structural features. First, the lipid is designed as a side chain in consideration of the fact that the lipid is biocompatible and can enter the cytoplasm easily and also provides protective layers to conjugated polymer backbones. Second, the ammonium pendant groups can interface with genes that offer PFPL as a vector for gene delivery. The PFPL forms uniform nanoparticles in water with a size of about 50 nm. The PFPL nanoparticle exhibits excellent photostability and little cytotoxicity. It can easily enter the cytoplasm via endocytosis (within 4 hours) and can be used for cell imaging. Furthermore, the PFPL particle can successfully deliver plasmids (pCX-EGFP) into lung cancer cells (A549) for transcription and translation. Thus, one can directly track the entrance of plasmids into cells and the expression of GFP proteins using fluorescence microscopy. The PFPL nanoparticle is a good candidate for cell imaging and tracking important intracellular processes in future research.
我们制备了一种基于脂质修饰阳离子聚(
芴苯基)的新型荧光纳米粒子(
PFPL),并对其进行了表征。
PFPL是两亲性的,具有两个独特的结构特征。首先,考虑到脂质具有
生物相容性,可以轻松进入细胞质,并且还可以为共轭聚合物骨架提供保护层,因此脂质被设计为侧链。其次,
铵基团可以与
基因相互作用,从而将
PFPL作为
基因传递的载体。
PFPL在
水中形成大小约为50 nm的均匀纳米粒子。
PFPL纳米粒子具有优异的光稳定性和低细胞毒性。它可以通过内吞作用(4小时内)轻松进入细胞质,可用于细胞成像。此外,
PFPL粒子可以成功地将质粒(pCX-
EGFP)传递到肺癌细胞(A549)中进行转录和翻译。因此,人们可以使用荧光显微镜直接追踪质粒进入细胞的过程以及GFP蛋白的表达。
PFPL纳米粒子是细胞成像和追踪未来研究中重要的细胞内过程的理想选择。