Hydrophobicity determines the fate of self-assembled fluorescent nanoparticles in cells

Abstract

The fate of small molecule nanoparticles (SMNPs) composed of self-assembling intrinsically fluorescent π-conjugated oligomers was studied in cells as a function of side-chain hydrophobicity. While the hydrophobic SMNPs remained intact upon cellular uptake, the more hydrophilic SMNPs disassembled and dispersed throughout the cytosol.