Rational design of water-dispersible and biocompatible nanoprobes with HS-triggered NIR emission for cancer cell imaging.

We present an approach for constructing a HS-specific nanoprobe by the entrapment of a small molecule probe within the hydrophobic interior of surface cross-linked micelles (SCMs), endowing the designed nanoprobes with good water solubility and biocompatibility. Importantly, the obtained nanoprobes displayed good responsiveness to HS in both ratiometric fluorescence and light-up NIR emission modes, thus enabling accurate identification of HS-rich colorectal cancer cells.