Redox supramolecular self-assemblies nonlinearly enhance fluorescence to identify cancer cells†
Abstract
Based on the nonlinear fluorescence enhancement, our H2O2 induced supramolecular self-assembly reveals a H2O2 threshold among multiple cancer and normal cells. Oxidative elimination restores an intramolecular hydrogen bond which can planarize the molecule to generate a fluorophore. The planarization enhances the intermolecular π–π stacking to promote self-assembly.