A novel furo[3,2-<i>c</i>]pyridine-based AIE photosensitizer for specific imaging and photodynamic ablation of Gram-positive bacteria

Abstract

An Rh-catalyzed tandem reaction was performed to construct an AIE-active furo[2,3-<i>c</i>]pyridine-based photosensitizer, named LIQ-TF. LIQ-TF showed near-infrared emission with high quantum yield, and high ¹O₂ and ˙OH generation efficiency, and could be used for specific imaging and photodynamic ablation of Gram-positive bacteria <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i>, showing great potential for combating multiple drug-resistant bacteria.