Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 28, 2026
Analysis of Fluorescent-Stained Lipid Droplets with 3D Reconstruction for Hepatic Steatosis Assessment
Published on: June 2, 2023
Lipid Droplet Specific Targeted Polarity-Sensitive NIR Fluorescence Carbon Dots for Imaging Metabolic
Yudi Cheng1,2, Hui Li1, Jiao Chen1,3
1Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Natural Functional Molecule of the Ministry of Education, Xi'an Key Laboratory of Photo-functional Molecular Materials and Theranostic, College of Chemistry & Materials Science, Northwest University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province 710127, China.
Abstract:
Lipid droplets (LDs) are multifunctional organelles essential for lipid storage, metabolic regulation, and cellular homeostasis, and their dysregulation is closely associated with the onset and progression of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). Sensitive and specific fluorescent imaging of LDs dynamics is crucial for elucidating MASLD pathogenesis and accelerating the development of effective therapeutics. Herein, we report near-infrared fluorescent carbon dots (NIR-FCDs) with precise LDs-targeting capability and enabling high-contrast imaging of LDs distribution in AML-12 cells and MASLD mice model, exhibiting high brightness (QY: 8.6%), deep-tissue penetration (75 μm), excellent photostability (>3 h continuous irradiation), and superior signal-to-background (SBR = 26). Leveraging these properties, NIR-FCDs was applied for visualizing pathological lipid accumulation in MASLD mice models and demonstrated their utility in a drug-screening platform successfully. This work developed a robust NIR-FCDs for LDs-specific imaging and highlighted its potential to advance mechanistic studies and therapeutic discovery in metabolic liver diseases.
