Nanoparticles of Organic Electronic Materials for Biomedical Applications.

Abstract

Organic electronic materials play important roles in modern electronic devices such as light-emitting diodes, solar cells, and transistors. Upon interaction with light, these optically active materials can undergo different photophysical and photochemical pathways, providing unique opportunities for optimization of light emission <i>via</i> radiative decay, heat generation <i>via</i> nonradiative decay, and singlet oxygen production or phosphorescence emission <i>via</i> intersystem crossing, all of which open alternative opportunities for their applications in sensing, imaging, and therapy. In this Perspective, we discuss all of the pathways that determine the optical properties of high-performance organic electronic materials, focusing on the optimization of each pathway for photogeneration and relaxation of electronic excited states. We also examine nanoparticle (NP) fabrication techniques tailored to macromolecules and small molecules to render them into NPs with optimized size and distribution for biomedical applications and endow organic electronic materials with water dispersibility and biocompatibility. Lastly, we illustrate the <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i> applications of some representative organic electronic materials after optimization of each relaxation pathway.