A novel aggregation-induced emission fluorescent probe with large Stokes shift for sensitive detection of pH changes in live cells

The detection of intracellular pH is crucial for elucidating the pathological process of cancers, as well as for medical diagnostic applications. Here, we developed an aggregation-induced emission active pH-responsive fluorescent probe (TPE-DCP) for sensitively detecting cell pH changes. The probe shows obvious pH-sensing properties at similar to 615 nm, with a pKa value of 6.82 and a good linear pH response ranging from 8.5 to 4.5. TPE-DCP holds advantages such as excellent anti-interference performance, good photostability, and low cytotoxicity, and has been successfully used to image intracellular pH changes in cells.

Automated summary

In this study, a novel fluorescence probe TPE-DCP was developed for sensitive detection of intracellular pH changes, showing excellent performance and successful application in imaging intracellular pH changes in cells.