Cleavage-induced fluorescence change via hydrophilicity control: A new strategy for biological application

In this work, we report a novel stimuli-sensitive probe working on the principle of the cleavage-induced fluorescent change via hydrophilicity control. In our Si–Py–Ac–PEG probe, cleavage of hydrophilic PEG moiety in acidic environment induces hydrophobic interaction of pyrenes to increase their excimer emission. Our fluorescent probe (Si–Py–Ac–PEG) was successfully applied to the spotting microarray and nanoparticle suspension to demonstrate the potential of biological applications, i.e. protein chip and bioimaging.