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Enhanced photostability of an anthracene-based dye due to supramolecular encapsulation: a new type of photostable fluorophore for single-molecule study

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Abstract

For single-molecule fluorescence studies, highly photostable fluorophores are absolutely imperative, because photo-induced degradation (i.e., photobleaching) limits the observation time of individual molecules. Herein, the photophysics and photostability of a highly fluorescent 9,10-bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene derivative (G) and its self-assembled boronic ester encapsulation complex (G@Cap) embedded in a glassy polymer matrix are investigated by single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy (SMFS). The heterogeneity of the fluorescence emission wavelength and triplet blinking kinetics of the guest G are significantly decreased by supramolecular encapsulation due to conformational restriction and reduced heterogeneity in the local environment. A nearly 10-fold increase in the photostability of G due to encapsulation is quantitatively confirmed by evaluating the photobleaching yields of G and G@Cap. In addition, it is found that the G@Cap is >30-fold more photostable than rhodamine 6G, a widely used fluorescent dye in single-molecule studies. These results demonstrate that the G@Cap can serve as a very bright, long-lasting fluorescent probe for single-molecule studies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Shizuoka University, 836 Ohya Suruga-ku, Shizuoka, 422-8529, Japan

    Masaaki Mitsui, Koji Higashi, Ryoya Takahashi, Yohei Hirumi & Kenji Kobayashi

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  1. Masaaki Mitsui
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  2. Koji Higashi
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  3. Ryoya Takahashi
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  4. Yohei Hirumi
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  5. Kenji Kobayashi
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Correspondence to Masaaki Mitsui.

Additional information

Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Additional data, including the fluorescence intensity trace of single G molecules, the probability density distributions of on-time duration and on-counts for single G@Cap, the histograms of triplet lifetimes obtained from the autocorrelation analysis, the histograms of 〈tsur〉 for G and G@Cap, and the histograms of λmax and Φb of R6G. See DOI: 10.1039/c4pp00065j

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Mitsui, M., Higashi, K., Takahashi, R. et al. Enhanced photostability of an anthracene-based dye due to supramolecular encapsulation: a new type of photostable fluorophore for single-molecule study. Photochem Photobiol Sci 13, 1130–1136 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1039/c4pp00065j

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/c4pp00065j

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