Core-shell self-assembly triggered via a thiol-disulfide exchange reaction for reduced glutathione detection and single cells monitoring

A novel core-shell DNA self-assembly catalyzed by thiol-disulfide exchange reactions was proposed, which could realize GSH-initiated hybridization chain reaction (HCR) for signal amplification and molecules gathering. Significantly, these self-assembled products via electrostatic interaction could accumulate into prominent and clustered fluorescence-bright spots in single cancer cells for reduced glutathione monitoring, which will effectively drive cell monitoring into a new era.