Super-Resolution Mitochondrial Fluorescent Probe for Accurate Monitoring of Drug-Induced Liver Injury.

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) has emerged as an urgent clinical challenge. It is characterized by mitochondrial dysfunction in liver cells, which leads to abnormal changes in HO levels within the mitochondria. Super-resolution imaging allows for the observation of the fine structure of mitochondria at the nanometer scale, potentially enabling the detection of mitochondrial HO levels during DILI at the subcellular organelle level. Here, we report the design and synthesis of a novel HO-activated probe for the detection of mitochondrial HO levels. is a near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probe with a large Stokes shift (260 nm) and a sensing mechanism based on intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) switching. Super-resolution imaging of mitochondrial HO was conducted using structured illumination microscopy (SIM). The improved accuracy in observing periods of mitochondrial dysfunction allows the probe to be effectively utilized for the rapid monitoring nanoscale upregulation of HO during DILI and hepatic fibrosis, thus providing with the capability to screen for effective therapeutic candidates.