Enhanced fluorescence properties of polyfluorene–based polymer dots through an ascorbic acid-photoaging treatment for living cell imaging

Abstract

The polymer dots (Pdots) prepared by the conjugated polymer (PFO, poly (9,9-dihexylfluorene-2,7-diyl)) have high fluorescence intensity and are often used in biological fluorescence imaging. However, due to the chain defects, the PFO Pdots suffer from stability issues such as photoinactivation and photobleaching. To solve this problem, we drew inspiration from the preparation process of organic planar light-emitting devices and added an optimization processing after Pdots was prepared. We used illumination as the driving force to activate defects on its chain, and ascorbic acid as a reducing substance to restore the chain defects of the polymer to a more stable state. Through this method, we increased the fluorescence intensity by nearly 1.9 times, and significantly improving their long and short-term stability. In addition, it ensures other properties remain unchanged. This optimization scheme is also fully compatible with the entire biological imaging process, ensuring that other important properties such as cytotoxicity do not undergo unnecessary changes. Furthermore, we conducted material characterization and theoretical simulation, revealing that the optimization scheme mainly serves to repair C-9 alkyl defects on the polyfluorene unit. This study has improved and enhanced the fluorescence performance of PFO Pdots, and also provides a way to optimize the treatment of other similar conjugated polymer material systems.