21:T50f,Photodynamic therapy (PDT), which relies on photosensitizers (PS) and light to generate reactive oxygen species to kill cancer cells or bacteria, has attracted much attention in recent years. PSs with both bright emission and efficient singlet oxygen generation have also been used for image-guided PDT. However, simultaneously achieving effective ¹ O₂ generation, long wavelength absorption, and stable near-infrared (NIR) emission with low dark toxicity in a single PS remains challenging. In addition, it is well known that when traditional PSs are made into nanoparticles, they encounter quenched fluorescence and reduced ¹ O₂ production. In this contribution, these challenging issues have been successfully addressed through designing the first photostable photosensitizer with aggregation-induced NIR emission and very effective ¹ O₂ generation in aggregate state. The yielded nanoparticles show very effective ¹ O₂ generation, bright NIR fluorescence centered at 820 nm, excellent photostability, good biocompatibility, and negligible dark in vivo toxicity. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments prove that the nanoparticles are excellent candidates for image-guided photodynamic anticancer therapy.22:T4eb,The synthesis of water-soluble near-infrared (NIR)-emissive fluorescent molecules with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics and theranostic functions is highly desirable but remains challenging. In this work, we designed and readily prepared for the first time such a molecule with AIE features, good water-solubility and intense emission in the NIR region. This AIE luminogen (AIEgen) is able to specifically "light up" the cell membrane without the involvement of a washing procedure. Interestingly, the staining process can be performed by simply shaking the culture with cells at room temperature for only a few seconds after the addition of the AIEgen, indicating an ultrafast and easy-to-operate staining protocol. This is the first fluorescent "light-up" probe for cell-imaging that allows the combination of a short staining period (at the second-level) with a wash-free process. Additionally, the presented AIEgen has also been developed to serve as an excellent phototherapeutic agent for high efficiency generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) upon visible light irradiation, which allows its effective application in the photodynamic ablation of cancer cells, demonstrating its dual role as an imaging and phototherapeutic agent.23:T550,Precise diagnostics are of significant importance to the optimal treatment outcomes of patients bearing brain tumors. NIR-II fluorescence imaging holds great promise for brain-tumor diagnostics with deep penetration and high sensitivity. This requires the development of organic NIR-II fluorescent agents with high quantum yield (QY), which is difficult to achieve. Herein, the design and synthesis of a new NIR-II fluorescent molecule with aggregation-induced-emission (AIE) characteristics is reported for orthotopic brain-tumor imaging. Encapsulation of the molecule in a polymer matrix yields AIE dots showing a very high QY of 6.2% with a large absorptivity of 10.2 L g^-1 cm^-1 at 740 nm and an emission maximum near 1000 nm. Further decoration of the AIE dots with c-RGD yields targeted AIE dots, which afford specific and selective tumor uptake, with a high signal/background ratio of 4.4 and resolution up to 38 µm. The large NIR absorptivity of the AIE dots facilitates NIR-I photoacoustic imaging with intrinsically deeper penetration than NIR-II fluorescence imaging and, more importantly, precise tumor-depth detection through intact scalp and skull. This research demonstrates the promise of NIR-II AIE molecules and their dots in dual NIR-II fluorescence and NIR-I photoacoustic imaging for precise brain cancer diagnostics.

	Year	Citations

References