Photoresponsive polymers have become one of the most important smart materials due to their unique advantages such as excellent sensitivity, high contrast, and rapid response. Endowing photoresponsive polymers with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) can not only enrich the research of materials science but also expand the applications of smart materials. Photoresponsive AIE polymers are generally constructed by combining AIE luminogens (AIEgens) with photoresponsive units via chemical, supramolecular, or physical strategies. In terms of the working mechanisms, two main responsive systems, namely, photochemical and photophysical, are summarized with specific application examples. Photoresponsive AIE polymers have been applied not only in chemosensors, photopatterning, and photodegradable materials but also in biosystems for photodynamic therapy, photothermal therapy, photoacoustic imaging, and photobiosynthesis. This Review concludes with a discussion on the challenges and perspectives for future directions in this field. All the achievements and advantages mentioned in this Review indicate the fascinating properties and bright future of photoresponsive AIE polymers.
Specific bioconjugation for native primary amines is highly valuable for both chemistry and biomedical research. Despite all the efforts, scientists lack a proper strategy to achieve high selectivity for primary amines, not to mention the requirement of fast response in real applications. Herein, we report a chromone-based aggregation-induced emission (AIE) fluorogen called CMVMN as a self-reporting bioconjugation reagent for selective primary amine identification, and its applications for monitoring bioprocesses of amination and protein labeling. CMVMN is AIE-active and capable of solid-state sensing. Thus, its electrospun films are manufactured for visualization of amine diffusion and leakage process. CMVMN also shows good biocompatibility and potential mitochondria-staining ability, which provides new insight for organelle-staining probe design. Combined with its facile synthesis and good reversibility, CMVMN would not only show wide potential applications in biology, but also offer new possibilities for molecular engineering.
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