Tetrasubstituted imidazole-based multifunctional fluorophores: trace water detection and lipid droplet (LD) imaging studies

Abstract

Two tetrasubstituted imidazoles, denoted as TSIm-1 and TSIm-2, with flexible and rigid cores, respectively, displayed remarkable photophysical properties as well as aggregation-induced emission. TSIm-1 exhibited trace water detection in THF with an LOD of 0.03 wt%. Importantly, TSIm-1 and TSIm-2 both efficiently targeted lipid droplets (LDs) with high specificity in HeLa cells. These probes were further applied to monitor LD growth induced by oleic-acid–mediated lipid accumulation.