Optical Molecular Probes for Imaging and Early Diagnosis of Acute Kidney Injury

The kidneys play an irreplaceable role in metabolism and excretion. However, Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) often occurs due to high local concentrations of drugs, inflammation, and trauma. Activated optical probes with excellent detection performance can effectively identify biomarkers in the initial stage of AKI and play an important role in evaluating AKI and preventing the development of diseases. This article summarizes representative design strategies for molecular probes and special diagnostic applications. These molecular probes show great potential in basic research and clinical diagnosis, enabling enhanced images of tissue structure and biomarkers, as well as early diagnosis of AKI. In addition, the difficulties and challenges that optical probes may face in the development and application of AKI are also discussed in this article.