Amphiphilic fluorescent probe self-encored in plasma to detect pH fluctuations in cancer cell membranes

Abstract

We have developed an amphiphilic pH probe (P₁CS) to detect pH levels in the plasma membrane in cancer cells. An elevated fluorescence signal at 550 nm at the cell surface of cancer cells (MDA-MB-231, HeLa cells) prompted the application of P₁CS as a pH marker for the cancer cell surface, discriminating it from normal cells (WI-38). Moreover, the probe enables labeling of the surface of multilayered tumor spheroids, which promotes its use as a marker for the surface of tumor tissue.