Folic Acid Functionalized PFBT Fluorescent Polymer Dots for Tumor Imaging

Folic acid functionalized PFBT-COOH and PFBT-NH2 polymer dots were prepared using a nano precipitation method, and their applications for tumor imaging in vitro and in vivo were demonstrated for the first time. The synthesized FA-PFBT-COOH polymer dots were 50-60 nm in diameter with a zeta potential of greater than -30 mV in water, while the synthesized FA-PFBT-NH2 polymer dots were 90-105 nm in diameter with a zeta potential of greater than -20 mV in water. Furthermore, the FA-PFBT-COOH polymer dots produced stronger fluorescence intensity in water solution as well as in the cells than the FA-PFBT-NH2 polymer dots, and were able to image H1299 tumors in living mice after intravenous injection. This study showed the great potentials of FA-PFBT-COOH polymer dots as fluorescent nanoprobes for biomedical imaging.