Lipid-Mimicking Fluorescent Probe for Selective Bacterial Imaging and Rapid Antibiotic Screening

Bacterial discrimination is essential for microbiological studies and clinical diagnosis. However, the development of highly selective probes remains challenging. Herein, we present a lipid-mimicking fluorescent probe, namely, TB12NS, for achieving selective bacterial imaging and rapid antibiotic screening. Specifically, TB12NS integrates a donor-π-acceptor structural luminophore, a hydrophobic alkyl chain, and a hydrophilic ammonium sulfonate headgroup, enabling targeted intercalation into phospholipid-rich cytoplasmic membranes. TB12NS exhibits pronounced fluorescence responses toward Gram-positive bacteria, facilitating rapid bacterial discrimination and membrane polarity sensing. Moreover, when incubated with membrane-disrupting antibiotics in the presence of Gram-negative bacteria, TB12NS effectively intercalates into the cytoplasmic membrane, emitted markedly enhanced fluorescence for probing membrane integrity and evaluating antibiotic activity. Overall, TB12NS provides a robust platform for selective bacterial imaging and rapid membrane-disrupting antibiotic screening.