Full Paper
tion and brine, dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered and
evaporated under reduced pressure. After drying, 2-nitrobenzyl-
caged salicylaldehydes as precursors for the synthesis of 1–3 were
obtained. One of the 2-nitrobenzyl-caged salicylaldehydes (2 equiv)
was dissolved in CH2Cl2 or DMF, followed by the addition of hydra-
zine hydrate (1 equiv). After being stirred overnight at room tem-
perature, the crude product was precipitated by adding ethanol,
filtered and washed by ethanol twice to afford 1–3 after drying.
Photoactivation of the fluorophores in aggregate states
(colloid solutions)
Stock solutions (2.0 mm) of compounds 1–9 were prepared in
DMSO. In a typical experiment, the colloid solution was prepared
by placing 25 mL of the stock solution into 475 mL 10 mm HEPES at
pH 7.0 with rigorous mixing. The solutions were irradiated by
a 12 W hand-held UV lamp (5 cm above the solutions) at 365 or
300 nm for a desired time, then absorption and fluorescence
spectra were recorded at 258C. Excitation was at 370 nm.
Compounds 7–9 were prepared by a similar procedure as 1–3
using 7-methoxylcoumarin-4-yl bromide instead of 2-nitrobenzyl
bromide. Compounds 10–12 were synthesized following the re-
ported procedure.[16b] Compounds 4–6 were obtained by a similar
procedure as 1–3 using 10–12 and phenacyl bromide instead of
salicylaldehydes and 2-nitrobenzyl bromide, respectively.
Photoactivation of the fluorophores in solid states
Stock solutions (2.0 mm) of compounds 1–9 were prepared in THF.
In a typical experiment, 3 mL of each stock solution was dropped
on a filter paper strip. After complete evaporation and dried, the
paper strips was irradiated by a 12 W hand-held UV lamp (5 cm
above the spots) at 365 or 300 nm for a desired time, then
fluorescence spectra were recorded at 258C. Excitation was at
370 nm.
For additional figures and more details of the synthesis, see the
Supporting Information.
Acknowledgements
We thank for the financial support from the National Natural
Science Foundation of China (nos. 2142200199, 21390410 and
21375074), the National Key Scientific Instrument and Equip-
ment Development Project of China (no. 2012YQ030111), the
Tsinghua University Initiative Scientific Research Program (no.
20131089220), and the Recruitment Program of Global Youth
Experts of China.
Multiple-color and stepwise photopattering
Papers were fully soaked by stock solutions (2.0 mm) of 1, 2, 3 and
8 in THF, and dried under ambient condition. The photopattering
of the word “CHEMISTRY” was carried out by irradiating the papers
at 365 or 300 nm for 30 min under a plastic photomask (with the
“CHEMISTRY” pattern) printed by a standard printer. For images of
flowers and leaves, the stock solutions were used as the “dye” for
the drawings on a paper by brush pens. After having been dried
under ambient conditions, the paper was irradiated at l=365 or
300 nm for 30 min. The visualization of the fluorescent images was
through the excitation by a l=365 nm UV lamp for a short time
(within 5 s) to minimize unwanted activation.
Keywords: aggregation-induced emission · cell imaging ·
fluorescence · hydrazones · photoactivatable fluorophores
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Fluorescent Probes, Vol. 291 (Ed.: M. Gerard), Academic Press, 1998,
pp. 63–78.
Photoactivatable cell imaging
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[7] a) C. Y. Y. Yu, R. T. K. Kwok, J. Mei, Y. N. Hong, S. J. Chen, J. W. Y. Lama,
MCF-7 cells were obtained from NIH (Bethesda, USA) and the re-
agents for culture were purchased from HyClone (Waltham, USA).
The cells were planted at 1ꢁ105 cellsmLÀ1 on non-coated glass-
bottomed dishes and cultured in Dulbecco’s modified Eagle
medium (DMEM) containing 10% fetal bovine serum, 100 I.U.mLÀ1
penicillin and 100 mgmLÀ1 streptomycin at 378C in a 5% CO2
incubator. After 24 h of incubation in DMEM, the cells were
washed twice with DMEM.
In a typical experiment, loading solutions of 1, 2, 3, and 8 were
prepared by placing 25 mL of their DMSO stock solutions (2.0 mm)
into a microtube, and then the solutions were diluted to 1 mL with
DMEM with vigorous mixing. The loading solutions containing
50 mm 1, 2, 3, or 8 were added to the cells and incubated for 1 h
at 378C. The cells were then washed with 1 mL DMEM for three
times to remove free fluorophores. After incubating the cells in
dark or irradiated at l=365 or 300 nm for a desired time, the
fluorescence imaging of the cells was implemented. Excitation
laser of the fluorescence microscope was at 405 nm.
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General procedures for the synthesis of compound 1–9
2-Nitrobenzyl bromide (1 equiv) was dissolved in acetonitrile. Then
cesium carbonate (2 equiv) and one of the salicylaldehydes
(1 equiv) in acetonitrile was added. After being stirred for 3 h at
room temperature, the solvent was removed under reduced pres-
sure and the residue was extracted with CH2Cl2 for three times.
Then the organic layer was washed with 0.2m NaOH aqueous solu-
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