The rational design of a gemcitabine prodrug with AIE-based intracellular light-up characteristics for selective suppression of pancreatic cancer cells†
Abstract
An enzyme and reduction-activatable gemcitabine prodrug (TPE-GEM-RGD) with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties was designed for targeted and image-guided cancer therapy. TPE-GEM-RGD was successfully used for intracellular light-up imaging and glutathione (GSH)-responsive release of gemcitabine to suppress pancreatic cancer cells.