Liprobe, a vital dye for lipid aggregates detection in imaging and high-content screens

Pathological lipid accumulation is a hallmark of several metabolic disorders, and detection aggregates an essential step for initial diagnosis drug screening purposes. However, low-cost, simple, reliable fluorescent probes are not widely available. Here, six push-pull-push dyes were studied, proved to be highly sensitive the polarity medium, presenting potential distinguish structures with different hydrophobic indexes. Importantly, in presence their staining specificity increased fluorescence wavelength blue shifted. One compounds, named Liprobe, was physiologically inert cells, as witnessed by mass-spectrometry assays. Liprobe toxic living zebrafish embryos, differentially stained muscle bone tissues. In triglyceride solutions, high correlation observed between Liprobe’s 558 592 nm emissions 0–2.5 mg dl ?1 range. Confocal cell-based content screens revealed that this fluorophore able selectively detect droplets ceramide loads normal Farber’s disease human fibroblasts, respectively. Our results demonstrate suitable fluorescing probe vital aggregates, compatible rapid cheap assays preliminary and, potentially, other lipidosis.