End‐/side‐chain fluorescent polymer conjugates: Stimuli‐responsiveness and biological applications

Abstract

Smart fluorescent polymers are an interesting class of advanced materials that find widespread applications in diverse areas ranging from materials chemistry to biology. This review highlights the last 15 years' developments of end‐chain and side‐chain fluorescent polymer conjugates by employing various controlled polymerization techniques, with a major focus on “grafting to” or “grafting from” strategies. The fluorescent polymer conjugates that discussed in this review are limited to some conventional dye molecules such as perylene‐3,4,9,10,‐bis(dicarboximide), 1,8‐naphthalimide, tetraphenylethylene, azo dye, rhodamine, coumarin, fluorescein, pyrene, and a few other selected dyes. Attempts are also made to primarily describe the changes in optical properties of these conjugates in response to various external stimuli. Additionally, this review extensively discusses the formation of nanoassemblies of these fluorescent polymer conjugates, along with their various applications, majorly focusing on their role in bioimaging, drug delivery, and DNA binding.

Hyperbranched Poly(vinyl ether ester)s with Structure-Dependent Intrinsic Fluorescence: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications

“…The construction of functional polymers with regular structures, exceptional performance, and broad applicability holds considerable academic and industrial value. As a vital category of advanced functional materials, fluorescent polymers have garnered increasing interest over decades owing to their distinctive optical properties and considerable potential in applications such as sensors, cell imaging, and drug delivery. − In particular, fluorescent polymers with highly branched structures are the focus of growing attention. − On the one hand, hyperbranched fluorescent polymers showed higher fluorescence quantum yields than linear analogous polymers because these polymers, with their three-dimensional globular architectures, mitigate self-quenching and enhance the fluorescence quantum yield by reducing interchain interactions and π–π stacking. , On the other hand, hyperbranched fluorescent polymers have attractive features such as highly branched topology, numerous terminal functional groups, adjustable chemical structures, and convenient synthetic procedures, which make them applicable in various fields. − Over the past two decades, various fluorescent hyperbranched polymers have been developed, including conjugated, dye-modified, AIEgen-derived, and nonconjugated − fluorescent polymers.…”