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

Lipid droplets (LDs) play a 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.