Bright and photostable fluorescent probe with aggregation-induced emission characteristics for specific lysosome imaging and tracking

We develop a new lysosome-targeting AIE fluorescent probe tetraphenylethene-morpholine (TPE-MPL), by incorporating a typical lysosome-targeting moiety of morpholine into a stable tetraphenylethene skeleton. Due to both the AIE and antenna effects, TPE-MPL possesses superior photostability, appreciable tolerance to microenvironment change and high lysosome targeting ability. Our findings confirm that TPE-MPL is a well-suited imaging agent for targeting lysosome and tracking dynamic movement of lysosome. Moreover, due to its synthetic accessibility, TPE-MPL could be further modified as a dual-functional probe for lysosome, thereby gain further insight into the role of lysosome in biomedical applications.