DNA is a superb molecule for self‐assembly of nanostructures. Often many DNA strands are required for the assembly of one DNA nanostructure. For lowering the cost of synthesizing DNA strands and facilitating the assembly process, it is highly desirable to use a minimal number of unique strands for potential technological applications. Herein, a strategy is reported to assemble a series of DNA microparticles (DNAµPs) from one component DNA strand. As a demonstration of the application of the resulting DNAµPs, the design and assembled DNAµPs are modified to carry additional single‐stranded tails on their surfaces. The modified DNAµPs can either capture other nucleic acids or display CpG motifs to stimulate immune responses.

PEGylated gadolinium hydroxycarbonate nanoparticles have been designed and synthesized via a one-pot facile route and successfully applied as high-performance dual-modal contrast agents for X-ray CT and MR imaging.

A new fluorescent probe L fusing the rhodamine B scaffold with 2H-benzo[b][1,4]oxazin-3(4H)-one moiety has been developed and applied as an acidic pH sensor. The ultraviolet (UV) and fluorescence spectra of the probe at different pH values were investigated in B-R buffer/MeOH (v: v = 3: 7). This probe showed increase of both the UV-Vis absorption and fluorescence emission from alkaline/neutral to acidic condition, reaching a strongest intensity at pH 2.13, but the intensities decreased when the pH decreased to 1.83. The color variation along the pH changes proved that the probe L can be used as a low-cost optical sensor for the naked eye detection of proton in the present buffer.

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A novel fluorescent rhodamine-based probe L for selective responding to ClO– has been synthesized and characterized. The spectroscopy showed that probe L can detect ClO– in aqueous solution without interaction with other interfering ions, and the detection is also evident by the colour change from colourless to reddish purple under white light. The remarkable fluorescence enhancement showed the high selectivity and sensitivity of probe L for the detection of ClO–. Furthermore, probe L was applied to intracellular fluorescent imaging of HeLa cells treated with ClO– and MTT assay showed nontoxicity in living cells.