半导体聚合物作为功能有机高分子材料被广泛应用于有机光电子器件领域的研究。近年来由半导体聚合物构成的荧光纳米粒子引起了广泛的研究兴趣。这类新型纳米探针具有光学吸收截面大、量子效率高、辐射跃迁速率快、光稳定性好等特性, 在荧光成像和生物传感等领域获得了重要应用。本文简要概述了近年来半导体聚合物纳米粒子的研究进展, 包括其光物理性质、表面功能化以及在细胞标记、体内成像、生物传感、单粒子示踪、药物输送和光动力学疗法等领域的应用。

In recent years, fluorescent semiconducting polymer nanoparticles, which primarily consist of π-conjugated polymers, have been attracted considerable attention in an extensive range of applications, such as fluorescence imaging and biosensing. These π-conjugated polymer nanoparticles are called polymer dots (Pdots) when they have particle size comparable to that of the inorganic quantum dots. Pdots have many charming properties, such as large absorption cross section, high fluorescence quantum yield, very fast emission rates, excellent photostability, and so on. In this review, we briefly summarize recent findings of the photophysical properties of Pdots, the surface functionalization and biomolecular conjugation of Pdots and their applications in cellular labeling, in vivo imaging, biosensing, single-particle tracking, drug delivery and photodynamic therapy.