Crosstalk-free dual-channel visualization and accurate assessment of acute lung injury using a two-photon fluorescent...

Acute lung injury (ALI) is an inflammatory lung disease with high morbidity and mortality, however effective treatments for it are still lacking. Thus, a real-time and accurate method for ALI visualization is urgently needed for research and therapeutic evaluation. In this work, we introduced a two-photon fluorescent probe LD-DCIE for dual-channel detection of viscosity in lipid droplets (LDs) and ONOO^-. LD-DCIE exhibited a near-infrared fluorescence at 660 nm in response to high viscosity, and provided a crosstalk-free blue fluorescence signal at 425 nm after reacting with ONOO^-. The probe displayed good two-photon properties and LDs targeting capability, and was successfully applied to reveal the changes of ONOO^- and viscosity in LPS-induced ALI model cells and mice through two crosstalk-free fluorescence channels. Moreover, the therapeutic effects of two drugs for ALI treatment, puerarin (Pue) and syringic acid (SA), were evaluated by LD-DCIE through the real-time visualization. Thus, probe LD-DCIE is a promising imaging tool to evaluate potential drugs and develop therapeutic strategies for ALI.