A fluorogenic and ultrabright probe for imaging of lipid droplets in live and fixed cells

Abstract

Lipid droplets(LDs) play an vital role in energy homeostasis and cellular signaling. Therefore, the visualization of LDs is very important. To this end, a new LD-specific fluorescent probe, TPE-Q, was developed based on the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) strategy. TPE-Q features facile synthesis and good biocompatibility. It demonstrates robust performance in labeling LDs in live and fixed cells, characterized by good photostability, a high signal-to-noise ratio, and compatibility with three-dimensional imaging. TPE-Q provides an effective approach for detecting LDs and shows considerable promise for applications in disease diagnosis, pathological investigation, and biomedical research.