Fluorescent Probes for Intestinal Diseases: Design Strategies, Imaging Mechanisms and Biomedical Applications

ABSTRACT Intestinal diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), colorectal cancer (CRC), represent significant global health challenges. The pathogenesis and progression of these diseases are intimately linked to dynamic fluctuations in key biomarkers within the complex gastrointestinal tract, such as disease‐associated proteins, reactive oxygen/nitrogen species, and microenvironmental pH levels. Early diagnosis and monitoring of intestinal diseases remain difficult in clinical practice. Therefore, developing practical tools for sensitive and specific detection of these biomarkers is crucial for disease diagnosis, drug discovery, and pathological investigations. Among these, fluorescent probes serve as powerful tools for the real‐time, non‐invasive visualization of these pathological events with high spatiotemporal resolution in living systems. This review comprehensively summarizes recent progress in the molecular design and biomedical applications of fluorescent probes for intestinal disease imaging and diagnosis over the past decade. Specifically, it covers molecular engineering strategies, recognition mechanisms, and sensing performance of probes responsive to key disease‐related biomarkers. In the future, long‐wavelength probes, quantitative imaging probes, and multimodal probes will represent key trends to enhance the visual detection of clinical intestinal diseases. Overall, this review will facilitate the development of novel fluorescent probes for intestinal disease detection and provide meaningful guidance for precision diagnosis and tailored therapy in gastroenterology.