Intracellular pH (pHi) is an important parameter associated with cellular behaviors and pathological conditions. Sensing pHi and monitoring its changes in live cells are essential but challenging due to the lack of effective probes. We herein report a pH-sensitive fluorogen for pHi sensing and tracking. The dye is a tetraphenylethene-cyanine adduct (TPE-Cy). It is biocompatible and cell-permeable. Upon diffusing into cells, it responds sensitively to pHi in the entire physiological range, visualizing the acidic and basic compartments with intense red and blue emissions, respectively. The ratiometric signal of the red and blue channels can thus serve as an indicator for local proton concentration. The utility of TPE-Cy in pHi imaging and monitoring is demonstrated with the use of confocal microscopy, ratiometric analysis, and flow cytometry.

Template free controlled aggregation and spectral properties in fluorescent organic nanoparticles (FONs) is highly desirable for various applications. Herein, we report a non-templated method for controlling the aggregation in NIR cyanine-based nanoparticles derived from a Group of Uniform Materials Based on Organic salts (GUMBOS). The cationic heptamethine cyanine dye, 1,1′,3,3,3′,3′-hexamethylindotricarbocyanine (HMT), was coupled with five different anions viz. [NTf2−], [BETI−], [TFPB], [AOT−] and [TFP4B] by ion exchange method to obtain the respective GUMBOS. The nanoGUMBOS obtained via a reprecipitation method were primarily amorphous and spherical (30-100 nm) as suggested by selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and transmission electron micrographs (TEM). The formation of tunable self-assemblies within the nanoGUMBOS was characterized using absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy, in conjunction with molecular dynamic simulations. Counterion controlled spectral properties observed in the nanoGUMBOS were attributed to variations in J/H ratios with different anions. Association with the anion [AOT−] afforded predominant J-aggregation enabling highest fluorescence intensity, while [TFP4B−] disabled the fluorescence due to predominant H-aggregation in the nanoparticles. Analyses of the stacking angle of the cations based on molecular dynamic simulation results in [HMT][NTf2], [HMT][BETI] and [HMT][AOT] dispersed in water and visual analysis of representative simulation snapshots also imply that the type of aggregation was controlled through the counterion associated with the dye cation.

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