Citation: Linyu Zeng, Weiran Ling, Hai Xiong. pH-regulated self-assembly and Ag⁺-responsive bioimaging of endoplasmic reticulum-targeted probe in vitro/in vivo[J]. Chinese Chemical Letters, ;2026, 37(10): 112941. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2026.112941 shu

pH-regulated self-assembly and Ag⁺-responsive bioimaging of endoplasmic reticulum-targeted probe in vitro/in vivo

Institute of Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China

hai.xiong@szu.edu.cn

Received Date: 10 February 2026
Revised Date: 12 May 2026
Accepted Date: 12 May 2026
Available Online: 13 May 2026

Figures(5)

Amphipathic TAP-dU and TAP-dC were designed with a distinctive donor-π-acceptor (D-π-A) electronic architecture, which the nucleoside function and TAP-moiety act as the electron donor and electron acceptor, respectively. The base-triggered charge transfer is influenced by protonation/deprotonation states and conformational twisting. Hydrogen-bonding interactions between the pyrimidine and ribose were thoroughly examined by nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) spectroscopy, single-crystal X-ray crystallography, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Importantly, TAP-dU exhibits pH-dependent self-assembly and π-π stacking interactions, leading to an aggregated fluorescence multicolor shift from blue to green to yellow, with emission wavelengths reaching up to 545 nm. Unlike our previously reported nucleus-targeted TPE-dU/TPE-dC and mitochondria-targeted TPE-FdU, this study demonstrates that both nontoxic TAP-dC and TAP-dU effectively achieve endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-specific imaging in NIH-3T3 and HeLa cells. Additionally, due to its biocompatibility, TAP-dC also serves as a promising candidate for in vivo Ag⁺ detection in NIH-3T3 and zebrafish via bioimaging.
- ER-targeted probe,
- Artificial nucleoside,
- DFT calculations,
- pH-controlled self-assembly,
- Ag⁺ detection
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通讯作者: 陈斌, bchen63@163.com

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沈阳化工大学材料科学与工程学院沈阳 110142

pH-regulated self-assembly and Ag+-responsive bioimaging of endoplasmic reticulum-targeted probe in vitro/in vivo

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通讯作者: 陈斌, bchen63@163.com

pH-regulated self-assembly and Ag⁺-responsive bioimaging of endoplasmic reticulum-targeted probe in vitro/in vivo