Ultrafast Delivery of Aggregation-Induced Emission Nanoparticles and Pure Organic Phosphorescent Nanocrystals by Saponin Encapsulation

Abstract

Saponins are a class of naturally occurring bioactive and biocompatible amphiphilic glycosides produced by plants. Some saponins, such as α-hederin, exhibit unique cell membrane interactions. At concentrations above their critical micelle concentration, they will interact and aggregate with membrane cholesterol to form transient pores in the cell membrane. In this project, we utilized the unique permeabilization and amphiphilic properties of saponins for the intracellular delivery of deep-red-emitting aggregation-induced emission nanoparticles (AIE NPs) and pure organic room-temperature phosphorescent nanocrystals (NCs). We found this method to be biocompatible, inexpensive, ultrafast, and applicable to deliver a wide variety of AIE NPs and NCs into cancer cells.

Multifunctional Silicon–Carbon Nanohybrids Simultaneously Featuring Bright Fluorescence, High Antibacterial and Wound Healing Activity

“…Cell nucleus colocalization experiments also prove the phenomenon in which the SiCNs show well‐fitting patterns with the nucleus of the cells (Figure S14, Supporting Information) . It is reported that saponins existed in notoginseng could interact with membrane components (like phospholipids and cholesterol), thus forming transient pores in the membrane . In addition, the notoginseng‐conjugated SiCNs have small enough particle size (≈2.1 nm).…”

“…[36] It is reported that saponins existed in notoginseng could interact with membrane components (like phospholipids and cholesterol), thus forming transient pores in the membrane. [1] In addition, the notoginseng-conjugated SiCNs have small enough particle size (≈2.1 nm). Therefore, such resultant SiCNs might enter the nucleus through stepping across the transient nuclear membrane pores due to their pore forming property and small size.…”

“…The abundant and diverse natural organic bioactive compounds have provided precious reservoir in developing nanomedicine and biotechnology. [1][2][3] Especially, herbal medicines are drawing increasing attention from scientific community on account of their cultural acceptability, rich resources, and unique physiochemical properties. [4][5][6] Despite these advanced activities, most of the herbal medicines are hydrophobic and vulnerable with relatively poor bioavailability which severely impact their medicinal performance.…”

Organic Room Temperature Phosphorescence Materials for Biomedical Applications

“…Tang and co‐workers also reported that compound 15 BDBF with a lifetime of 0.23 s and emission efficiency of 36% under ambient conditions has the potential to be the candidate of bioimaging agents in 2017. However, pure 15 nanocrystals are unable to enter cells.…”

Polymorphic Pure Organic Luminogens with Through‐Space Conjugation and Persistent Room‐Temperature Phosphorescence

“…Recently,p ure organic luminogens with room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) [1][2][3][4] have attracted increasing attention owing to their fundamentali mportance in deciphering the photophysical processes of singleta nd triplet excitons, [5][6][7][8][9][10] as well as their potentiala pplications in sensing, [5,[11][12][13] bioimaging, [14][15][16] anticounterfeiting, [8,[17][18][19] and so forth. In particular, those with persistent RTP (p-RTP) are also promising owing to the retaining of RTP emissione ven after ceasing the excitation sources, which means they can be used in encryption, oxygen and chemical sensing, and high-resolution molecular imaging with ideal signal-to-noise ratios.…”