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Updated: Feb 18, 2026

Fluorescent Nanoparticles for the Measurement of Ion Concentration in Biological Systems
Published on: July 4, 2011
Fluorescent probes and nanoparticles for intracellular sensing of pH values
Wen Shi1, Xiaohua Li, Huimin Ma
1Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Living Biosystems, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
Intracellular pH regulates a number of cell metabolism processes and its sensing is thus of great importance for cell studies. Among various methods, fluorescent probes have been widely used for sensing intracellular pH values because of their high sensitivity and spatiotemporal resolution capability. In this article, the development of fluorescent probes with good practicability in sensing intracellular pH values and pH variation during 2009 - 2014 is reviewed. These fluorescence probes are divided into two kinds: small molecules and nanoparticles. Photophysical properties, advantages/disadvantages and applications of the two kinds of probes are discussed in detail.
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