Cyanostyryl‐Guanidiniocarbonyl‐Pyrrole Amphiphiles: From Aggregation‐Induced Emission to Photodimerization, Self‐Assembly, and Bioimaging

Two Cyanostyryl‐guanidiniocarbonyl‐pyrrole based amphiphiles are synthesized and examined in detail. In addition to achieving aggregation‐induced emission from self‐assembly, resulting in nanoparticles, it was found that the observed [2 + 2] photocycloaddition tunes the photophysical properties. The guanidiniocarbonyl‐pyrrole component of these hybrid luminophores is shown to bind oxo‐anions, such as pyrene‐tetracarboxylate, as confirmed by fluorescence lifetime measurements. Moreover, both amphiphiles are used in bio‐imaging experiments with HeLa cells, demonstrating effective cellular uptake.