Water-soluble AIE-active fluorescent organic nanoparticles for ratiometric detection of SO2 in the mitochondria of living cells

Abstract

We report a water-soluble AIEgen (TYDL) to be self-assembled into fluorescent organic nanoparticles (TYDLs) for specific sensing of SO₂ in living hepatoma cells. It is demonstrated that the TYDLs were suitable for ratiometrically detecting endogenous and exogenous SO₂ in mitochondria with good selectivity, low detection limit (75 nM) and excellent photostability (>30 min). These findings imply the great potential applications of TYDLs for the diagnosis of SO₂-related diseases in cell biology.