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Phosphorescent Iridium(III) Complexes for Bioimaging

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Luminescent and Photoactive Transition Metal Complexes as Biomolecular Probes and Cellular Reagents

Part of the book series: Structure and Bonding ((STRUCTURE,volume 165))

Abstract

Phosphorescent iridium(III) complexes have received increasing attention in bioimaging applications owing to their advantageous photophysical properties and efficient internalization into live cells. In this chapter, we summarize the recent design of bioimaging reagents based on phosphorescent iridium(III) complexes. The utilizations of cationic, neutral, and zwitterionic phosphorescent iridium(III) complexes in bioimaging applications have been described first. Complexes showing aggregation-induced phosphorescence have also been included considering the absence of the commonly observed aggregation-caused quenching. Then we discuss the functionalization of iridium(III) complexes with biological substrates and reactive groups, which allows non-covalent and covalent interaction, respectively, with intracellular biomolecules. As the photophysical properties of iridium(III) complexes are very sensitive toward their surrounding ligands and microenvironment, the use of these complexes as intracellular sensors for gas molecules, ions, and amino acids has been summarized. Additionally, the incorporation of iridium(III) complexes into dendrimer, polymer, and nanoparticle systems providing attractive functionalities has been discussed. Furthermore, various strategies, including the use of near-infrared-emitting and two-photon excitable complexes, upconversion nanoparticles, and lifetime-based microscopy techniques, to enhance signal-to-noise ratios in bioimaging have been discussed. At last, the design of reagents for multi-mode imaging techniques involving phosphorescence and magnetic resonance imaging has been described.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the financial support from the National Basic Research Program of China (2012CB933301), National Natural Science Foundation of China (61274018, 21174064, and 21171098), Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-12-0740), the Ministry of Education of China (IRT1148 and 20133223110006), Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province of China (BK20130038), and Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications (Project No. NY213097).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory for Organic Electronics & Information Displays, Institute of Advanced Materials, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing, 210023, P. R. China

    Kenneth Yin Zhang, Shujuan Liu, Qiang Zhao & Wei Huang

  2. Department of Chemistry, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, P. R. China

    Fuyou Li

  3. Institute of Advanced Materials and Jiangsu-Singapore Joint Research Center for Organic/Bio- Electronics & Information Displays, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 211816, P. R. China

    Wei Huang

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  1. Kenneth Yin Zhang
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  2. Shujuan Liu
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  3. Qiang Zhao
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Correspondence to Qiang Zhao .

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  1. City University of Hong Kong, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    Kenneth Kam-Wing Lo

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Zhang, K.Y., Liu, S., Zhao, Q., Li, F., Huang, W. (2014). Phosphorescent Iridium(III) Complexes for Bioimaging. In: Lo, KW. (eds) Luminescent and Photoactive Transition Metal Complexes as Biomolecular Probes and Cellular Reagents. Structure and Bonding, vol 165. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/430_2014_166

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