Near infrared fluorescence probe and galactose conjugated amphiphilic copolymer for bioimaging of HepG2 cells and endocytosis

Glycopolymer with near infrared fluorescence (NIRF glycopolymer) has been designed and synthesized. The NIRF glycopolymer was prepared by firstly employing a combination of ring opening polymerization and Reversible Addition–Fragmentation Chain Transfer (RAFT) polymerization, followed by post-functionalization with an aminocyanine molecule. The obtained NIRF glycopolymer was characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and UV-vis and fluorescence spectrophotometry. The as-prepared copolymer is a potential drug delivery system with a bioimaging probe in the NIR region for tracing the biodistribution of the polymer in cells or the body. The bioactivity of the obtained material was evaluated by incubating the material with HepG2 cells, and the result shows an enhanced and fast endocytosis due to the specific interaction between the HepG2 cells and NIRF glycopolymer, and the process can be traced by fluorescence microscopy.