Preparation of a Water-Soluble Fluorescent Polymer

A fluorophore-enriched polymer was synthesized through modification of a kind of copolymer by fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC). The copolymer was obtained by batch emulsion polymerization of t-butyl acrylate (t-BA) and an amino-containing monomer M2, which was produced in our laboratory. According to various characterizations, such as gel permeability chromatography (GPC), H-NMR, fluorescence spectroscopy, the amount of amino and fluorescein groups of the obtained fluorescent polymer could be controlled and its polarity could be converted from hydrophobic to hydrophilic through hydrolysis. These water-soluble fluorescent polymers had a high luminescence, which were visible under the conventional microscope. Such an advantage made them suitable for further bioconjunction as probes with their targets, such as biomacromolecules and cells.