Organic Afterglow Nanoparticles in Bioapplications

Abstract

Organic afterglow nanoparticles are unique optical materials that emit light long after cessation of excitation. Due to their advantages of no need for real-time light excitation, avoiding autofluorescence, low imaging background, high signal-to-background ratio, deep tissue penetration, and high sensitivity, afterglow imaging technology has been widely used in cell tracking, biosensing, cancer diagnosis, and cancer therapy, which provides an effective technical method for the acquisition of molecular information with high sensitivity, specificity and real-time at the cellular and living level. In this review, we summarize and illustrate the recent progress of organic afterglow imaging, focusing on the mechanism of organic afterglow materials and their biological application. Furthermore, we also discuss the potential challenges and the further directions of this field.

Triggering Long Persistent Luminescence From Functionalizable Carbon Dots‐in‐Carbon Nitrides Composites Via Production of Deep‐Traps

“…Dispersible and functionalizable metal-free LPL systems have long been highly desired for practical applications. [14,66] However, such systems are rarely prepared from typical afterglow organic system because encapsulation in an inert atmosphere and/or harsh rigidification is required due to the instability of oranic afteglow emissions in the presence of water or oxygen. [32,33] Reports on dispersible organic LPL materials that can be further functionalized are currently rare.…”

“…[ 12,13 ] Thus, they are regarded as a promising alternative to traditional LPL materials for sensing and bioimaging. [ 14 ] These capsules effectively isolate the organic emitters from the solvents thereby preventing afterglow quenching caused by oxygen and water, however, they also impede exciton transmission between emitters and surroundings. To preserve the intrinsic molecular structures of both emitters and polymers as well as emitter–polymer interactions (typically hydrogen bonds and electrostatic interaction), further functionalization of these dispersible organic afterglow systems has proven challenging.…”