Real-time monitoring of the evolution of bacterial infection-associated multiple radical species is critical to accurately profile the pathogenesis and host-defense mechanisms. Here, we present a unique dual wavelength nearinfrared (NIR) cyanine-dyad molecular probe (HCy5-Cy7) for simultaneous monitoring of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) variations both in vitro and in vivo. HCy5-Cy7 specifically turns on its fluorescence at 660 nm via superoxide or hydroxyl radical (O 2 C À , COH)-mediated oxidation of reduced HCy5 moiety to Cy5, while peroxynitrite or hypochlorous species (ONOO À , ClO À )-induced Cy7 structural degradation causes the emission turn-off at 800 nm. Such multispectral but reverse signal responses allow multiplex manifestation of in situ oxidative and nitrosative stress events during the pathogenic and defensive processes in both bacteriainfected macrophage cells and living mice. Most importantly, this study may also provide new perspectives for understanding the bacterial pathogenesis and advancing the precision medicine against infectious diseases.

Polycyclic aromatic molecules are promising functional materials for a wide range of applications, especially in organic electronics. However, their largely hydrophobic nature has impeded further applications. As such, imparting high solubility/hydrophilicity to polycyclic aromatic molecules leads to a breakthrough in this research field. Herein, we report the synthesis of diazapentabenzocorannulenium, a cationic nitrogen-embedded buckybowl bearing a central imidazolium core, by a bottom-up strategy from polycyclic aromatic azomethine ylide. X-ray crystallography analyses have revealed a bowl-shaped molecular structure that is capable of forming charge-segregated one-dimensional columns by bowl-in-bowl packing. In addition to its fluorescence capabilities and high dispersibility in water, the molecule was found to selectively localize in the mitochondria of various tumor cells, showing potential as viable mitochondriaselective fluorescent probes.Polycyclic aromatic molecules are one of the most important class of organic molecules owing to their widespread applications in various scientific fields. [1][2][3][4][5] The significant progress and application of polycyclic aromatic molecules in material sciences, especially in organic electronics, are mainly based on their intrinsic hydrophobic properties. [6,7] In order to further extend possible applications, for example in biological or medicinal research, the development of highlysoluble/hydrophilic molecules is desirable. [8,9] The most conventional method to achieve water-soluble polycyclic aromatic molecules is to add hydrophilic substituents at their peripheral positions (Figure 1a). [10][11][12][13][14][15][16] However, the method may not be ideal in terms of step economy as it requires some additional steps for functionalization. It is therefore essential to develop more efficient methods in introducing hydrophilicity to polycyclic aromatic molecules by other methods than introducing hydrophilic substituents. A possible solution would be to change the framework of polycyclic aromatic molecules. Firstly, the introduction of curvature to Angewandte Chemie

Triphenylphosphonium (TPP+) moieties are commonly conjugated to drug molecules to confer mitochondrial selectivity due to their positive charge and high lipophilicity. Although optimisation of lipophilicity can be achieved by modifying...

Polycyclic aromatic molecules are promising functional materials for a wide range of applications, especially in organic electronics. However, their largely hydrophobic nature has impeded further applications. As such, imparting high solubility/hydrophilicity to polycyclic aromatic molecules leads to a breakthrough in this research field. Herein, we report the synthesis of diazapentabenzocorannulenium, a cationic nitrogen‐embedded buckybowl bearing a central imidazolium core, by a bottom‐up strategy from polycyclic aromatic azomethine ylide. X‐ray crystallography analyses have revealed a bowl‐shaped molecular structure that is capable of forming charge‐segregated one‐dimensional columns by bowl‐in‐bowl packing. In addition to its fluorescence capabilities and high dispersibility in water, the molecule was found to selectively localize in the mitochondria of various tumor cells, showing potential as viable mitochondria‐selective fluorescent probes.

In situ self-assembly has attracted increasing research interest for applications in imaging and therapy in recent years. Particularly for protease-activated developments, inspiration is drawn from the innate specificity of their catalytic activities, rapid discovery of the various roles they play in the proliferation of certain diseases, and inherent susceptibility of small molecule peptide conjugates to proteolytic digestion in vivo. The overexpression of a disease-related protease of interest can be exploited as an endogenous stimulus for site-specific self-assembly to largely amplify a molecular event happening at the cellular level. This holds great potential for applications in early stage disease detection, long-term disease monitoring, and sustained therapeutic effects. This review summarizes the recent developments in protease-activated self-assemblies for imaging and therapeutic applications toward the manifestation of tumors, bacterial infections, neurodegenerative disorders, and wound recovery.