{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T06:08:18Z","timestamp":1788847698975,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"Wiley","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,7]],"date-time":"2026-09-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788739200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,7]],"date-time":"2026-09-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788739200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Smart Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>\n                    Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are key mediators in the progression of atherosclerosis, making ROS imaging valuable for evaluating oxidative stress in plaques. However, most activatable fluorescent probes show limited fluorescence enhancement under physiological conditions because their fluorophores are insufficiently ionized at neutral pH, resulting in weak signal output and low sensitivity. To address this issue, we developed a pKa\u2010engineering strategy by introducing electron\u2010withdrawing fluorine atoms at the ortho\u2010positions of the phenolic hydroxyl group to construct the fluorophore DCM\u20102F\u2010OH. The difluoro substitution lowered the pKa to 6.0, enabling complete ionization and strong near\u2010infrared fluorescence emission at physiological pH. Incorporation of a boronate ester trigger further afforded the activatable ROS probe DCM\u20102F\u2010B. DCM\u20102F\u2010B displayed a 12.8\u2010fold fluorescence turn\u2010on response toward ROS, significantly higher than that of the non\u2010fluorinated analog (2.5\u2010fold), along with a low detection limit (0.03\u00a0\u03bcM) and low cytotoxicity. The probe successfully visualized endogenous ROS in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)\u2010stimulated macrophages and detected elevated ROS levels in aortic valve tissues from apolipoprotein E knockout (ApoE\n                    <jats:sup>\u2212\/\u2212<\/jats:sup>\n                    ) mice, consistent with histopathological analysis. This work demonstrates that pKa engineering is an effective strategy for improving activatable fluorescent probes under physiological conditions and provides a useful tool for imaging oxidative stress in cardiovascular diseases.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1002\/smo2.70102","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T05:46:57Z","timestamp":1788846417000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["pKa engineering of a near\u2010infrared fluorescent probe for sensitive imaging of oxidative stress in atherosclerotic plaques"],"prefix":"10.1002","author":[{"given":"Qianqian","family":"Yu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials and Joint International Research Laboratory of Precision Chemistry and Molecular Engineering Shanghai Key Laboratory of Functional Materials Chemistry Feringa Nobel Prize Scientist Joint Research Center Institute of Fine Chemicals Frontiers Science Center for Materiobiology and Dynamic Chemistry School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering East China University of Science and Technology  Shanghai China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jiahui","family":"Liang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials and Joint International Research Laboratory of Precision Chemistry and Molecular Engineering Shanghai Key Laboratory of Functional Materials Chemistry Feringa Nobel Prize Scientist Joint Research Center Institute of Fine Chemicals Frontiers Science Center for Materiobiology and Dynamic Chemistry School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering East China University of Science and Technology  Shanghai China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tijian","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials and Joint International 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