A Mechanism for Reversibly Pausing a Self-Immolation Cascade in Response to pH Changes

We describe the first report of a self-immolation cascade that can be reversibly paused and reactivated in response to pH changes. This system employs a triazole-based self-immolative linker, which expresses a pH-sensitive intermediate during its elimination sequence. This allows the system to respond to pH cues within its local environment, thus establishing a new way to gate self-immolative release using fluctuating or transient chemical signals.