A novel pH-activated AIEgen probe for dynamic lysosome tracking and high-efficiency photodynamic therapy.

A novel AIEgen molecular probe (N-3QL) with typical AIE effects, good biocompatibility, lysosome targeting, pH activation, excellent photostability, and high brightness was synthesized using two simple synthetic steps. Spectroscopic and cytotoxicity experiments indicate that N-3QL can not only be used for the dynamic monitoring of cancer cell lysosomes, but also for photodynamic therapy (PDT) ablation of cancer cells.