Monitoring the Progression of Early Atherosclerosis Using a Fluorescence Nanoprobe for the Detection and Imaging of Phosphorylation and Glucose Levels

Abstract Monitoring the early stage of atherosclerosis (AS) without plaque formation is of great significance. Herein, we developed a metal organic framework (MOF)‐based fluorescence nanoprobe to analyze the progression of AS by assessing the levels of protein phosphorylation and glucose in blood and tissue. The probe was prepared by post‐modification of the MOF with iodine (I 3 − )‐rhodamine B (RhB) associate, which realizes the specific recognition of target object through the metal joint Zr IV and I 3 − ‐RhB, respectively. We investigated different stages of target object changes in the early non‐plaque stage of AS in blood. It was found that the levels of phosphate and glucose in the blood were higher than those of the normal mice. The results of two‐photon images showed that early AS mice had higher levels of protein phosphorylation and glucose than that of the normal mice. The present study provides a suitable fluorescence tool for further revealing the pathogenesis and progression of AS.