Figure 1.
Schematic design of ultra-pH-sensitive (UPS) micellar nanoprobes. (a) In the unimer state (pH < pHt), polymer dissociation resulted in fluorophore/quencher separation and strong fluorescence emission. In the micelle state (pH > pHt), fluorescence quenching dramatically suppresses the emission intensity of fluorophores. (b) A random copolymer strategy was used to achieve an operator-predetermined control of nanoprobe pHt by the ability to continuously fine tune the hydrophobicity of the PR segment.