Assembly-disassembly driven "off-on'' fluorescent perylene bisimide probes for detecting and tracking of proteins in living cells

We have developed an assembly-disassembly driven "off-on'' fluorescent bioprobe based on amphiphilic perylene bisimide. In aqueous solutions, the amphiphilic probes can form self-assembled nanostructures with quenched fluorescence. These probes could then be disassembled by the binding of the probes to the targeted proteins, and the disassembly process leads to a 23-fold enhancement in fluorescence intensity. Amphiphilic perylene bisimides could be used as probes for the detection and tracking of targeted proteins under live cell conditions.