Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease that is primarily manifested as synovitis and polyarticular opacity and typically leads to serious joint damage and irreversible disability, thus adversely affecting locomotion ability and life quality. Consequently, good prognosis heavily relies on the early diagnosis and effective therapeutic monitoring of RA. Activatable fluorescent probes play vital roles in the detection and imaging of biomarkers for disease diagnosis and in vivo imaging. Herein, we review the fluorescent probes developed for the detection and imaging of RA biomarkers, namely reactive oxygen/nitrogen species (hypochlorous acid, peroxynitrite, hydroxyl radical, nitroxyl), pH, and cysteine, and address the related challenges and prospects to inspire the design of novel fluorescent probes and the improvement of their performance in RA studies.

Pan Luo is studying for a doctorate in Peking Union Medical College and has published 20 articles. He devoted himself to the study of biosensors and materials in medicine. And he serves as a reviewer for many well-known magazines.