One Emitter, Many Lifetimes: Formulation-Encoded TADF Organic Dots for Multiplexed Imaging of Cancer-Immune Cell Co-Cultures
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF)-based organic dots (Odots) are an attractive class of luminescent probes for multiplexed fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) as they can provide an unprecedented degree of tunability of their photoluminescence (PL) lifetimes. In this work, we demonstrate how formulation control of the Odot composition can be used to modulate the PL lifetime, which was then exploited in multiplexed FLIM studies. We synthesized and evaluated 48 TADF-Odots composed of eight structurally related derivatives of the multiresonant TADF (MR-TADF) emitter DiKTa , differing in number, strength, and steric demand of donor substituents, and six different formulations that modulated the degree of emitter aggregation. Controlled decrease in emitter aggregation as a function of doping concentration in the Odots produced a progressive blue-shift in the 1 emission, an increase in PL quantum yield up to 53%, and a lengthening of the PL lifetime, ultimately producing a family of Odots with PL lifetimes ranging from 4 to 35 ns. In vitro FLIM experiments in cancer cells validated the strategy for tuning the photophysics as a function of formulation, with PL lifetimes ranging from 3 to 16 ns. Finally, using different Odot formulations, each with the same emitter, we demonstrated signal resolution in multiplexed imaging experiments of co-cultures of human cancer and immune cells.
Source: ChemRxiv
Language: English
Subfield: Materials Chemistry
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7162019384