Abstract
Polymer microarrays were prepared using inkjet printing mixtures of acrylate monomers each with a common fluorescent fluorene co-polymer. Fluorescence analysis of each of the features on the array allowed identification of polymers that could tune the fluorescence under a variety of insults. The "hit" polymers were made into beads via reverse suspension polymerization and their fluorescence properties were analyzed.
Highlights
Since the electrons are conjugated along the backbone, the properties of theconjugated fluorescent polymer dyes are highly sensitive to minor external structural perturbations and local electron density changes that occur upon binding to other molecules.6It has been demonstrated that the chiral conformation of a polythiophene derivative can be manipulated by a “wrapping polymer” and its colour controlled,7while the fluorescence of conjugated polymers, such as polythiophene derivatives or fluorophores such as rhodamine,when grafted onto thermo-sensitive polymers can be switched on and off by altering the temperature.8Recently,conjugated fluorescent polymershave become candidatesto replacemolecular dyes and quantum dots for various fluorescence based biomedical-imaging applications,9while being used as fluorescent enhancers
Compared tomolecular dyes, conjugated fluorescent polymers have advantages in terms of brightness of emission, high extinction coefficients and goodphoto-stabilities,10which makethem suitable for various fluorescence imaging tasks.In additionconjugated fluorescent polymersarebiologically compatible with lower toxicities11than quantum dots.12Another approach to generate highly intense fluorescent signals is to incorporate them into particles, thuspolymer beads loaded with fluorophoresare widely usedin many biomedical applications, including as standards and calibrants, and for cell tracking and labeling.13Such fluorescent polymer beadsthus providea powerful platform forvisualizingbiological structures from the anatomical to the cellular and the monitoring ofdynamic physiological processes
Polymers used for manipulating fluorescent polymers were identified using a high-throughput approach, with polymer microarrays applied to the identification ofpolymer targets that could control the properties of conjugated polymerswith monomers chosen according to the literature.7,8aThe polymer microarrayswereconstructed from monomer collectionsto produce large numbers of polymerson a glass slideby inkjet printing of monomers, cross-linkers and photo-initiators and subsequent in situ polymerization initiated by UV light
Summary
Citation for published version: Wang, G, Duan, Z, Sheng, Y, Neumann, K, Deng, L, Li, J, Zhang, R & Bradley, M 2016, 'Tuning the emission properties of a fluorescent polymer using a polymer microarray approach - identification of an optothermo responsive polymer', Chemical Communications, vol 52, no.
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