Amphiphilic BODIPY-Based Photoswitchable Fluorescent Polymeric Nanoparticles for Rewritable Patterning and Dual-Color Cell Imaging

Photoswitchable fluorescent polymeric nanoparticles (PFPNs) with controllable molecular weight, high contrast, biocompatibility, and prominent photostability are highly desirable but still scarce for rewritable printing, super-resolution bioimaging, and rewritable data storage. In this study, novel amphiphilic BODIPY-based PFPNs with considerable merits are first synthesized by a facile one-pot RAFT-mediated miniemulsion polymerization method. The polymerization is performed by adopting polymerizable BODIPY and spiropyran derivatives, together with MMA as monomer, and mediated by utilizing biocompatible PEO macro-RAFT agent as both control agent and reactive stabilizer. The amphiphilic BODIPY-based PFPNs not only exhibit reversibly photoswitchable fluorescence properties under the alternative UV and visible light illumination through induced intraparticle fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) but also display controllable molecular weight with narrow polydispersity index (PDI), high contrast of fluorescence, tunable energy transfer efficiency, good biocompatibility, excellent photostability, favorable photoreversibility, etc. The as-prepared PFPNs are successfully demonstrated for rewritable fluorescence patterning and high-contrast dual-color fluorescence imaging of living cells, implying its potential for rewritable data storage and broad biological applications in cell biology and diagnostics.