Synthesis of a Cationic BODIPY-Containing Conjugated Polymer for Detection of DNA and Cellular Imaging.

A water-soluble cationic conjugated polyelectrolyte ( P1) containing fluorene, BODIPY and diacetylene moieties was synthesized and characterized. P1 showed two main absorption bands with maxima at 360 and 574 nm as well as fluorescence maxima at 648 nm due to the incorporation of BODIPY into the polymer backbone. Addition of CT DNA can quench the emission of P1 because of the formation of a P1/CT DNA complex, which was demonstrated by UV-vis spectra and dynamic light scattering (DLS) analyses. Cellular imaging results indicated P1 could be utilized as cellular imaging of HeLa cells, where red fluorescence was observed in the partial cytoplasm. Moreover, CCK-8 assay showed P1 had a low cytotoxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]