Issue 10, 2021
From the journal:

Chemical Science

Structural and process controls of AIEgens for NIR-II theranostics

Shunjie Liu,a   Yuanyuan Li,a   Ryan T. K. Kwok,a   Jacky W. Y. Lama  and  Ben Zhong Tang ORCID logo *ab  

* Corresponding authors

a Department of Chemistry, The Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, Institute for Advanced Study, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Division of Life Science, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
E-mail: tangbenz@ust.hk

b Center for Aggregation-Induced Emission, SCUT-HKUST Joint Research Institute, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China

Abstract

Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) is a cutting-edge fluorescence technology, giving highly-efficient solid-state photoluminescence. Particularly, AIE luminogens (AIEgens) with emission in the range of second near-infrared window (NIR-II, 1000–1700 nm) have displayed salient advantages for biomedical imaging and therapy. However, the molecular design strategy and underlying mechanism for regulating the balance between fluorescence (radiative pathway) and photothermal effect (non-radiative pathway) in these narrow bandgap materials remain obscure. In this review, we outline the latest achievements in the molecular guidelines and photophysical process control for developing highly efficient NIR-II emitters or photothermal agents with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) attributes. We provide insights to optimize fluorescence efficiency by regulating multi-hierarchical structures from single molecules (flexibilization) to molecular aggregates (rigidification). We also discuss the crucial role of intramolecular motions in molecular aggregates for balancing the functions of fluorescence imaging and photothermal therapy. The superiority of the NIR-II region is demonstrated by fluorescence/photoacoustic imaging of blood vessels and the brain as well as photothermal ablation of the tumor. Finally, a summary of the challenges and perspectives of NIR-II AIEgens for in vivo theranostics is given.

Graphical abstract: Structural and process controls of AIEgens for NIR-II theranostics

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Article information

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/D0SC02911D
Article type
Minireview
Submitted
23 May 2020
Accepted
12 Jun 2020
First published
12 Jun 2020
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2021,12, 3427-3436

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Structural and process controls of AIEgens for NIR-II theranostics

S. Liu, Y. Li, R. T. K. Kwok, J. W. Y. Lam and B. Z. Tang, Chem. Sci., 2021, 12, 3427 DOI: 10.1039/D0SC02911D

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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