Dual colored mesoporous silica nanoparticles with pH activable rhodamine-lactam for ratiometric sensing of lysosomal acidityElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Synthesis and characterization of R6G-FITC-MSNs; sensitivity and selectivity of R6G-FITC-MSNs; assay procedures of lysosomal pH in living cells. See DOI: 10.1039/c1cc14627k

Alteration of lysosome acidity has been implicated in many biological events ranging from apoptosis to cancer metastasis, etc.Mesoporous silica nanoparticles doped with acid activable rhodamine-lactam and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) were developed for ratiometric sensing of lysosomal pH changes in live cells with flow cytometry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]