Functional Bioimaging Probes: Fluorescent Conjugated Polymer Nanoparticles Coupled with Pleural Fluid-Derived Peptides and Proteins

2025-09-12
TOK, KEREM
Moulahoum, Hichem
BARLAS, FIRAT BARIŞ
Karakurt, Oğuzhan
Ucar, Nursima
AKSU, DİDEM
Yeniterzi, Dilara
Ozufuklar, Ozge
Gursoy, Dilara
SÖYLEMEZ, SANİYE
Guler Celik, Emine
Çırpan, Ali
AKÇAM, TEVFİK İLKER
Turhan, Kutsal
ZİHNİOĞLU, FİGEN
TİMUR, SUNA
Thiol-functionalized conjugated polymers offer a versatile platform for designing fluorescent nanomaterials with biomedical relevance. In this study, a thiol modified conjugated polymer composed of benzoxadiazole (BO) and carbazole (POxC-SH) was synthesized, then converted into fluorescent nanoparticles (POxC-SH NPs) via a reprecipitation method. The nanoparticles exhibited strong photoluminescence, colloidal stability, and monodispersity in media. Surface thiol groups enabled conjugation with peptide and protein components isolated from the pleural fluid of lung adenocarcinoma patients using SMCC cross-linking. The resulting bioconjugated nanoprobe was characterized by spectroscopic methods, FTIR, XPS, and Mass spectrometry. Cellular studies in A549 and BEAS-2B cell lines demonstrated efficient internalization and low toxicity of both native and conjugated nanoparticles. This work presents a proof of concept for using thiol-modified conjugated polymer nanoparticles as intrinsically fluorescent, patient-adaptable imaging agents, bridging conjugated polymer chemistry with targeted biomedical applications.
BIOCONJUGATE CHEMISTRY
Citation Formats
K. TOK et al., “Functional Bioimaging Probes: Fluorescent Conjugated Polymer Nanoparticles Coupled with Pleural Fluid-Derived Peptides and Proteins,” BIOCONJUGATE CHEMISTRY, pp. 0–0, 2025, Accessed: 00, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://hdl.handle.net/11511/115725.