The fluorescence of functional dyes was generally quenched in aqueous solution, which hindered their application in water-bearing detections. In this work, a novel strategy based on host-guest interaction was provided for the purpose of fluorescence enhancement in aqueous solution and cell imaging. Three adamantane-modified fluorescent dyes (Coum-Ad, NP-Ad, NR-Ad) with coumarin, 1,8-naphthalimide and Nile Red as fluorophores were initially designed and prepared. The ((adamantan-1-yl)methyl)amino group, as the auxochrome of those dyes, complexed with methylated β-cyclodextrin (M-β-CD) via supramolecular interaction, and then fluorescent supramolecular nanoparticles (FSNPs) were formed by self-assembly in water. The inclusion equilibrium constant (K) could be as high as 3.94×104 M-1 . With the addition of M-β-CD, fluorescence quantum yields of these dyes were separately improved to 69.8 %, 32.9 % and 41.3 %. Inspired by the above satisfactory results, six adamantane-modified probes organelle-NPAds with organelle-targeting capability were further obtained. As the formation of hydrogen bonds between organelle-NPAd2 and M-β-CD verified by theoretical calculation, K of organelle-NPAd2 (5.13×104 M-1 ~4.53×105 M-1 ) with M-β-CD was higher than that of organelle-NPAd1 (1.15×104 M-1 ~3.66×104 M-1 ) and their fluorescence quantum yields increased to 32.8 %~83.6 % in aqueous solution. In addition, fluorescence enhancement was realized in cell imaging with the addition of M-β-CD.
Keywords: adamantane-modified; aqueous solution; fluorescence enhancement; methyl-β-cyclodextrin; supramolecular interaction.
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