Lipid droplet-specific near-infrared fluorescent probe for discriminating cancer and normal cells and diagnosing fatty liver

Lipid droplets (LDs) is a newly essential organelle, which participates in carious physiological and pathological processes. LDs are considered as potential markers for disease diagnosis. Specific imaging of LDs is useful to understand their basic biological function and to diagnose diseases. Here we designed and synthesized two fluorescent probes based on the low polarity and high viscosity in LDs. The terminal probe ZH-2 exhibits lipophilicity, NIR emission, viscosity sensitivity, and LDs specificity. The probe has been successfully used for visualizing LDs metabolism, discriminating between normal and cancerous cells, and diagnosing fatty liver disease.