Zhang Fei, Zhang Yao, Li Zhuoxia, Wu Xiaoxiao, Wang Dong, He Youling, Cheng Hong, Fan Baolei, Zhu Dan, Li Min, Tang Ben Zhong
Hubei Key Laboratory of Radiation Chemistry and Functional Materials, School of Nuclear Technology and Chemistry & Biology, Hubei University of Science and Technology, Xianning 437000, China.
School of Health Service and Management, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, 121 University Street, Jinzhong 030619, China.
Molecules. 2024 Dec 13;29(24):5904. doi: 10.3390/molecules29245904.
Lipid droplets (LDs), once regarded as inert fat particles, have been ignored by scientific researchers for a long time. Now, studies have shown that LDs are dynamic organelles used to store neutral lipids in cells and maintain cell stability. The abnormality of intracellular LDs usually causes metabolic disorders in the body, such as obesity, atherosclerosis, diabetes, and cancer, so the LDs have attracted wide attention. The traditional small molecules used for LDs recognition seriously affect the imaging effect due to their poor photo-stability, low signal-to-noise ratios, and aggregation-induced quenching (ACQ). In contrast to ACQ, aggregation-induced emission (AIE) materials, with structural modifiability, can make up for the aforementioned deficiencies in the field of fluorescence imaging and have attracted much attention. In this review, the importance of LDs in vivo, the design principles for LDs recognition, and the recent research progress of AIE compounds with tetraphenylethene (TPE) structure in LDs targets are reviewed. We expect this review to further provide researchers with feasible methods and protocols for expanding LDs identification, imaging, and other applications.
脂滴（LDs）曾被视为惰性脂肪颗粒，长期以来一直被科研人员忽视。如今，研究表明脂滴是用于在细胞中储存中性脂质并维持细胞稳定性的动态细胞器。细胞内脂滴异常通常会导致身体代谢紊乱，如肥胖、动脉粥样硬化、糖尿病和癌症，因此脂滴已引起广泛关注。用于脂滴识别的传统小分子由于其光稳定性差、信噪比低和聚集诱导猝灭（ACQ），严重影响成像效果。与ACQ相反，具有结构可修饰性的聚集诱导发光（AIE）材料可以弥补荧光成像领域的上述不足，并引起了广泛关注。在本综述中，我们综述了脂滴在体内的重要性、脂滴识别的设计原则以及具有四苯乙烯（TPE）结构的AIE化合物在脂滴靶向方面的最新研究进展。我们期望本综述能进一步为研究人员提供可行的方法和方案，以拓展脂滴识别、成像及其他应用。
