Discriminating normal and inflammatory mice models by viscosity changes with a two-photon fluorescent probe

Studies have found that the intracellular viscosity changes have close relationship with many diseases, therefore design and synthesis of fluorescent probe for testing intracellular viscosity is of great significance to the development of clinical. Herein, we developed a new two-photon near infrared probe (HCT) for viscosity imaging to discriminate normal and inflammatory models. Experimental results displayed that HCT has great sensitivity for the detection of viscosity, and based on the excellent performance of its photostability and lower cytotoxicity, HCT was successfully utilized for single-photon/ two-photon fluorescence imaging of the viscosity in living cells. More importantly, we employ HCT to further showcase in living tissues. Additionally, HCT could be used to discriminate between normal and inflamed mice, heralding its practical application in biomedical aspects.