Abstract
Tracking mitochondrial movement in neurons is an attractive but challenging research field as dysregulation of mitochondrial motion is associated with multiple neurological diseases. To realize accurate and long-term tracking of mitochondria in neurons, we elaborately designed a novel aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-active luminogen, TPAP-C5-yne, where we selected a cationic pyridinium moiety to target mitochondria and employed an activated alkyne terminus to achieve long-term tracking through bioconjugation with amines on mitochondria. For the first time, we successfully achieved the accurate analysis of the motion of a single mitochondrion in live primary hippocampal neurons and the long-term tracking of mitochondria for up to a week in live neurons. Therefore, this new AIEgen can be used as a potential tool to study the transport of mitochondria in live neurons.