Li Zhe, Cao Hui, Wang Youjuan, Liao Shiyi, Li Xu, Chen Baode, Wang Xiaosha, Jiang Lihui, Zou Yingping, Zhang Xiao-Bing, Song Guosheng
State Key Laboratory of Chemo and Biosensing, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China.
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China.
Sci Adv. 2025 Mar 28;11(13):eads4646. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.ads4646. Epub 2025 Mar 26.
Cardiovascular diseases, including stroke driven by atherosclerosis, remain a leading global health concern. Current diagnostic imaging modalities such as magnetic resonance imaging fail to characterize oxidative stress within atherosclerotic plaques. Here, we introduce difuranfluoreno-dithiophen-based polymers designed for afterglow imaging, offering ultrabright luminescence, ultralow-power excitation (0.087 milliwatts per square centimeter), and ultrashort acquisition times (0.01 seconds). Through a molecular engineering strategy, we have optimized polymers for enhanced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation capability, ROS capturing capability, and fluorescence quantum yield, resulting in an increase in afterglow intensity (~130-fold) compared to commonly used 2-methoxy-5-(2'-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene polymer (MEHPPV). Additionally, we have developed ratiometric afterglow nanoparticles doped with oxidative stress-responsive molecules, enabling imaging of oxidative stress markers in atherosclerotic plaque. This approach provides a tool for cardiovascular imaging and diagnostics, which is conducive to the auxiliary diagnosis and risk stratification of atherosclerosis.
心血管疾病，包括由动脉粥样硬化引发的中风，仍然是全球主要的健康问题。当前的诊断成像方式，如磁共振成像，无法表征动脉粥样硬化斑块内的氧化应激。在此，我们引入了用于余辉成像的基于二呋喃芴并二噻吩的聚合物，其具有超亮发光、超低功率激发（每平方厘米0.087毫瓦）和超短采集时间（0.01秒）。通过分子工程策略，我们优化了聚合物，以增强活性氧（ROS）生成能力、ROS捕获能力和荧光量子产率，与常用的2-甲氧基-5-（2'-乙基己氧基）-1,4-亚苯基亚乙烯基聚合物（MEHPPV）相比，余辉强度增加了约130倍。此外，我们还开发了掺杂有氧化应激响应分子的比率型余辉纳米颗粒，能够对动脉粥样硬化斑块中的氧化应激标志物进行成像。这种方法为心血管成像和诊断提供了一种工具，有助于动脉粥样硬化的辅助诊断和风险分层。
