The abnormality of the plasma membrane (PM) is an important biomarker for cell status and many diseases. Hence, visualizing the PM, especially in complex systems, is an emerging field in the life sciences, especially in low‐resource settings. Herein, we developed a water‐soluble PM‐specific probe utilizing electrostatic and hydrophobic interaction strategies with aggregation‐induced emission as the signal output. The probe could image the PM with many advanced features (wash‐free, ultrafast staining process, excellent PM specificity, and good biocompatibility), which were demonstrated by the PM imaging of neurons. The probe allowed for the first time the imaging of erythrocytes in the complex brain environment through a fluorescence‐based method. Moreover, the PM of the epidermal and partial view of the eyeball structure of live zebrafish are also revealed.

The viscosity of lysosome is reported to be a key indicator of lysosomal functionality. However, the existing mechanical methods of viscosity measurement can hardly be applied at the cellular or subcellular level. Herein, a BODIPY-based two-photon fluorescent probe was presented for monitoring lysosomal viscosity with high spatial and temporal resolution. By installing two morpholine moieties to the fluorophore as target and rotational groups, the TICT effect between the two morpholine rings and the main fluorophore scaffold endowed the probe with excellent viscosity sensitivity. Moreover, Lyso-B succeeded in showing the impact of dexamethasone on lysosomal viscosity in real time.

A multidimensional optical sensing platform which combines the advantages of resonance Rayleigh scattering (RRS), fluorescence, and colorimetry has been designed for detection of heparin. Phloxine B, a fluorescein derivative showing the special RRS spectrum in the long wavelength region, was selected to develop an easy-to-get system which can achieve switch-on sensing to obtain high sensitivity. The noise level of RRS in the long wavelength region is much weaker, and the reproducibility is much better; in this way, the sensitivity and selectivity can be improved. In the absence of heparin, the phloxine B and polyethyleneimine (PEI) form a complex through electrostatic interaction. Thus, the RRS signal at 554 nm is low; the phloxine B fluorescence is quenched, and the absorption signal is low. In the presence of heparin, competitive binding occurred between phloxine B and heparin toward PEI; then, phloxine B is gradually released from the phloxine B/PEI complex, causing obvious enhancement of the RRS, fluorescence, and absorption signals. Besides, the desorption of phloxine B is less effective for the heparin analogues, such as hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfate. In addition, the system presents a low detection limit of heparin to 5.0 × 10(-4) U mL(-1) and can also be applied to the detection of heparin in heparin sodium injection and 50% human serum samples with satisfactory results. Finally, the potential application of this method in reversible on-off molecular logic gate fabrication was discussed using the triple-channel optical signals as outputs.

We report a magnetic technique for altering the apparent contact angle of aqueous droplets deposited on a nanostructured surface. Polymeric tubes with embedded superparamagnetic magnetite (Fe(3)O(4)) nanoparticles were prepared via layer-by-layer deposition in the 800 nm diameter pores of polycarbonate track-etched (PCTE) membranes. Etching away the original membrane yields a superparamagnetic film composed of mostly vertical tubes attached to a rigid substrate. We demonstrate that the apparent contact angle of pure water droplets deposited on the nanostructured film is highly sensitive to the ante situm strength of an applied magnetic field, decreasing linearly from 117 ± 1.3° at no applied field to 105 ± 0.4° at an applied field of approximately 500 G. Importantly, this decrease in contact angle did not require an inordinately strong magnetic field: a 15° decrease in contact angle was observed even with a standard alnico bar magnet. We interpret the observed contact angle behavior in terms of magnetically induced conformation changes in the film nanostructure, and we discuss the implications for reversibly switching substrates from hydrophilic to hydrophobic via externally tunable magnetic fields.

Multicolor polymer nanoparticles (or dots) were prepared via the reaction between hyperbranched polyethyleneimine (PEI) and aldehydes, and when the concentration of aldehydes was lower, the final mixture displayed gelation behavior. This phenomenon can be applied to visual detection of aldehydes. Moreover, the colors of the polymer dots and gel are varied by using different kinds of aldehydes, which can be utilized for visual discrimination of aldehydes. For simplicity, we focus our attention on the interaction between PEI and formaldehyde. The nanoparticles show an average diameter of 42 nm, emit bright cyan fluorescence with high quantum yield, and exhibit high water dispersibility and excellent photostability. Due to the advantages, our polymer nanoparticles (PNPs) are utilized as a fluorescent probe for imaging in living SK-N-SH cells. Furthermore, valuable explorations have been carried out on the fundamental properties of PNPs, such as concentration-dependent fluorescence, pH-dependent fluorescence, and solvent effect.

A reversible fluorescence nanoswitch by integrating carbon quantum dots nanoassembly and pyrophosphate ion is developed, and a reliable real-time fluorescent assay for acid phosphatase (ACP) activity is established on the basis of the fluorescence nanoswitch. Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) abundant in carboxyl groups on the surface, nickel(II) ion and pyrophosphate ion comprise the fluorescent nanoswitch, which operates in the following way: the nanoassembly consisting of CQDs and nickel ions can be triggered by pyrophosphate ion serving as an external stimulus. At the same time, the fluorescence nanoswitch switches between two fluorescence states (OFF and ON) accompanying shifts in their physical states aggregation and disaggregation. Based on the nanoswitch, the introduction of ACP leads to breakdown of pyrophosphate ions into phosphate ions and resultant fluorescence quenching due to catalytic hydrolysis of ACP toward pyrophosphate ions (PPi). Quantitative evaluation of ACP activity in a broad range from 18.2 U/L to 1300 U/L, with a detection limit of 5.5 U/L, can be achieved in this way, which endows the assay with sufficiently high sensitivity for practical detection in human serum and seminal plasma.

Background: Placental efficiency is strongly associated with litter size, fetal weight and prenatal mortality. Together with its rapid growth during late gestation, the Large White pig breed shows a significant increase in placental size and weight, but this does not occur in the highly prolific Chinese pig breeds. To understand the molecular basis of placental development during late gestation in Chinese indigenous and Western breeds with different placental efficiency, female placental samples were collected from six pregnant Erhualian gilts at gestation day 75 (E75) and day 90 (E90) and from six pregnant Large White gilts at gestation day 75 (L75) and day 90 (L90). Two female placentas from one sow were used to extract RNA and then pooled in equal volumes. Twelve pooled samples were hybridized to the porcine Affymetrix GeneChip.

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