Traceable cancer cell photoablation with a new mitochondria-responsive and -activatable red-emissive photosensitizer.

A mitochondria-responsive and -activatable photosensitizer (PS), MPS, composed of a pyridinium cation as a mitochondria targeting group and a dibenzylideneacetone derivative with environment-sensitive emission properties as the ROS generator and self-efficacy tracer, is reported. This multifunctional PS offers a new strategy for traceable photodynamic ablation of cancer cells.