Manifesting viscosity changes in lipid droplets during iodined CT contrast media treatment by the real-time and in situ fluorescence imaging

Computed tomography (CT) is one of the most commonly used non-invasive clinical imaging modalities to predict, diagnose and treat the disease. Iodinated contrast media (ICM) is a form of intravenous radio -contrast agent containing iodine, which enhances the visibility of hollow tissue structures in medical CT imaging. ICM may cause allergic reactions, contrast-induced nephropathy, hyperthyroidism and possibly metformin accumulation. It is significant to find out the risk factors, pathogenesis, diagnosis, preven-tion, and treatment of adverse reactions caused by ICM. Revealing the changes of the lipid droplets (LDs) viscosity in pathophysiological processes such as cancer and iodined contrast media induced adverse re-action is not only important for monitoring the occurrence and development of some pathophysiological processes but also vital for the deep insight of the biological effects of LDs in these pathophysiological processes. A lipid droplets targeted fluorescent probe DN-1 was devised to sense cellular viscosity alter-ation with high selectivity and sensitivity, which was applied to distinguish cancer cells and normal cells and reveal viscosity changes during iodined CT contrast media treatment.(c) 2023 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.