Fluorescent Protein Nanovessels: A New Platform to Generate Bio–Abiotic Hybrid Materials for Bioimaging |
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| Authors: | Xiaoliang Wang Jianxu Zhang Youjun Wang Yang Liu Zhenhua Li Zhigang Xie Zhijun Chen |
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| Affiliation: | 1. State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, Institute of Theoretical Chemistry, International Joint Research Laboratory of Nano‐Micro Architecture Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, P. R. China;2. State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, P. R. China;3. Beijing Key Laboratory of Gene Resource and Molecular Development, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, P. R. China |
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| Abstract: | In this report, a new platform to generate fluorescent protein nanovessels is described. Based on systemic analyses and reconstitution experiments, a combination of protein scaffold and organic dye is identified. Briefly, certain proteins such as bovine serum albumin (BSA) can rapidly form cube‐like scaffold upon heating. This protein scaffolds intrinsically interact with nonfluorescent dyes such as bromophenol blue (BPB), forming BSA‐BPB nanocubes (BBNCs). Moreover, it turns out that the commercially available dye BPB contains aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) properties, allowing the BBNCs emissive upon irradiation. The fluorescent protein nanovessels are highly biocompatible and can be readily internalized by different type of cells. The fluorescent signal of the materials is well‐penetrable from mouse tissues and can be detected at near‐infrared region, making it a useful tool for various biological imaging studies. This platform for making fluorescent protein nanovessels is green, rapid, and cost‐effective and can be extended to other protein scaffolds and possibly other dye/AIE molecules. |
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| Keywords: | aggregation‐induced emission bio– abiotic hybrids fluorescent imaging nonfluorescent dyes protein nanovessels |
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