Creating Semiconducting Polymer Dots with Enhanced Performance Through a Simple Mixed Antisolvent Approach

Xu, Dingshi; He, Xuehan; Zhao, Yi; Wang, Jiasi; Chen, Lei

doi:10.3390/bios16060308

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Creating Semiconducting Polymer Dots with Enhanced Performance Through a Simple Mixed Antisolvent Approach

by

Dingshi Xu

¹,

Xuehan He

²,

Yi Zhao

^1,*,

Jiasi Wang

¹ and

Lei Chen

^1,*

¹

Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Sensor Technology and Biomedical Instrument, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen Campus, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen 518107, China

²

School of Pharmaceutical Sciences,Shenzhen Campus, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen 518107, China

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Biosensors 2026, 16(6), 308; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios16060308

Submission received: 9 April 2026 / Revised: 11 May 2026 / Accepted: 20 May 2026 / Published: 27 May 2026

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanomaterial-Based Biosensing Platforms: From Drug Discovery to Precision Nanomedicine)

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Abstract

We present an optimized method for producing semiconducting polymer dots using a water–ethanol mixed antisolvent during nanoprecipitation. Compared to conventional Pdots made with pure water as the antisolvent, these newly produced Pdots exhibit simultaneously enhanced fluorescence efficiency and stability of particle size and emission spectra. These findings should be mainly attributed to an improved core–shell Pdots nanostructure formed by a sequential nanoprecipitation process. It offers Pdots a purer, more compact, and hydrophobic inner core, coated with a greater number of hydrophilic polyethylene glycol shells. This viewpoint is further reinforced by Förster energy-transfer efficiency in a fluorescence donor-acceptor Pdots system. The novelly prepared Pdots can better encapsulate small-molecular cargoes and more efficiently bioconjugate to targets. Consequently, it demonstrates improved specific immunofluorescence staining of microtubule structures in living cells.

Keywords: semiconducting polymer dots; nanoprecipitation; antisolvent; core–shell; Fӧrster energy transfer

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MDPI and ACS Style

Xu, D.; He, X.; Zhao, Y.; Wang, J.; Chen, L. Creating Semiconducting Polymer Dots with Enhanced Performance Through a Simple Mixed Antisolvent Approach. Biosensors 2026, 16, 308. https://doi.org/10.3390/bios16060308

AMA Style

Xu D, He X, Zhao Y, Wang J, Chen L. Creating Semiconducting Polymer Dots with Enhanced Performance Through a Simple Mixed Antisolvent Approach. Biosensors. 2026; 16(6):308. https://doi.org/10.3390/bios16060308

Chicago/Turabian Style

Xu, Dingshi, Xuehan He, Yi Zhao, Jiasi Wang, and Lei Chen. 2026. "Creating Semiconducting Polymer Dots with Enhanced Performance Through a Simple Mixed Antisolvent Approach" Biosensors 16, no. 6: 308. https://doi.org/10.3390/bios16060308

APA Style

Xu, D., He, X., Zhao, Y., Wang, J., & Chen, L. (2026). Creating Semiconducting Polymer Dots with Enhanced Performance Through a Simple Mixed Antisolvent Approach. Biosensors, 16(6), 308. https://doi.org/10.3390/bios16060308

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Creating Semiconducting Polymer Dots with Enhanced Performance Through a Simple Mixed Antisolvent Approach

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