Water‐soluble Glucosamine‐coated AIE‐Active Fluorescent Organic Nanoparticles: Design, Synthesis and Assembly for Specific Detection of Heparin Based on Carbohydrate–Carbohydrate Interactions

• Published in: Chemistry, an Asian journal an Asian journal, 2019-10, Vol.14 (19), p.3295-3300
• Main Authors: Ji, Yan‐ming, Liu, Guang‐jian, Li, Cui‐yun, Liu, Yi‐chen, Hou, Min, Xing, Guo‐wen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: aggregation-induced emission; Anticoagulants; assembly; carbohydrate-carbohydrate interactions; Carbohydrates; Chemistry; Fluorescence; heparin; Nanoparticles; Selectivity; tetraphenylethylene
• ISSN: 1861-4728; 1861-471X
• DOI: 10.1002/asia.201901153

Two water‐soluble carbohydrate‐coated AIE‐activate fluorescent organic nanoparticles TPE3G and TPE4G were designed and synthesized for the detection of heparin. Different from the reported strategy, we not only utilized the general detection mechanism of electrostatic interactions, but also introduced the concept of carbohydrate‐carbohydrate interactions (CCIs) to enrich the detection mechanism of heparin. TPE3G can serve as an efficient “turn‐on” probe with higher selectivity towards heparin than TPE4G. TEM studies revealed that the micro‐aggregated TPE3G was encapsulated with the heparin chain to form a complex self‐assemblied composite and emits strong fluorescence. It is believed that the results illustrated in this study provide a novel strategy based on CCls to design water‐soluble and more efficient bio‐probes for various biological and clinical applications. 3G vs. 4G, what′s the difference? Water‐soluble carbohydrate‐coated AIE‐active fluorescent organic nanoparticles TPE3G and TPE4G were designed and synthesized for the detection of heparin. The nanoparticles display excellent water solubility, high selectivity, a good detection limit and broad linear range, and the carbohydrate‐carbohydrate interactions and electrostatic interactions synergistically contribute to the assembly and sensing process between TPE3G and heparin.