Temperature-sensitive organic nanoparticles with AIE effect were assembled in water from tetraphenylethene-based poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (TPE-PNIPAM), which was synthesized by ATRP using TPE derivative as initiator. The size and fluorescence of TPE-PNIPAM nanoparticles can be tuned by varying the temperature. These nanoparticles can be internalized readily by HeLa cells and can be used as long-term tracer in live cells to be retained for as long as seven passages.Keywords: aggregation-induced emission (AIE); fluorescent organic nanoparticles; long-term cellular tracing; poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM); tetraphenylethene (TPE)

A novel kind of three-dimensional (3D) nanographene based on a triptycene structure bearing three hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene (HBC) moieties was synthesized efficiently from triiodotriptycene. With the characteristic of intrinsic fluorescence, the 3D nanographene was used as a fluorescent agent for in vitro and in vivo fluorescence imaging with good antiphotobleaching ability and little toxicity.