With the evergrowing threat posed by multidrug resistance of bacteria, the development of effective antibacterial agents remains a global challenge. Infection with multidrug-resistant bacteria in hospitals significantly impairs the healing of wounds caused by deep-burn injuries or diabetic foot ulceration, leading to a high mortality rate among these patients. A multivalent glycosheet for the double light-driven therapy against multidrugresistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) infection on wounds is developed here. Galactose-and fucose-based ligands are self-assembled to form a glyco-layer on the surface of thin-layer molybdenum disulfide, producing the glycosheets capable of selectively localizing P. aeruginosa through multivalent carbohydrate-lectin interactions. The glycosheets loaded with antibiotics have proven applicable for: 1) near-infrared-light driven, in situ thermal release of antibiotics, increasing bacterial membrane permeability, and 2) white light-driven reactive-oxygen-species production to more thoroughly kill the bacteria. The targetability, together with the light sensibility, of the glycosheets enables a highly effective and optically controlled therapeutic regime for the healing of wounds infected by multidrug-resistant as well as clinically isolated P. aeruginosa.

Deferasirox, ExJade, is an FDA-approved iron chelator used for the treatment of iron overload. In this work, we report several fluorescent deferasirox derivatives that display unique photophysical properties, i.e., aggregation-induced emission (AIE), excited state intramolecular proton transfer, charge transfer, and through-bond and through-space conjugation characteristics in aqueous media. Functionalization of the phenol units on the deferasirox scaffold afforded the fluorescent responsive pro-chelator ExPhos, which enabled the detection of the disease-based biomarker alkaline phosphatase (ALP). The diagnostic potential of these deferasirox derivatives was supported by bacterial biofilm studies.

Fluorescent glycoconjugates are discussed for their applications in biology in vitro, in cell assays and in animal models. Advantages and limitations are presented for each design using a fluorescent core conjugated with glycosides, or vice versa.

While the development of AIE (aggregation-induced-emission) based fluorimetric probes for biological applications has been an active research area, probes with a ratiometric signal for biomolecular recognition have been rare. Here, a ratiometric AIE glyconanoparticle formed by the supramolecular assembly between a silole-based AIEgen and fluorescent glycoprobes for the detection of amyloid β (Aβ) peptides and fibrils, which are a signature of neurological disorders such as the Alzheimer's disease, is shown. Complexation of glycoprobes with the AIEgen produces an intensive fluorescence emission of the former because of a Förster resonance energy transfer between the two molecules. Subsequently, the presence of Aβ dissembles the particle, producing a fluorescence emission of the AIEgen. Interestingly, the addition of lectins that selectively recognize the glycoprobes results in a different ratiometric response of the particle, thereby enabling a discrimination from Aβ detection. This research offers insight into the simple construction of multifunctional ratiometric probes based on the supramolecular hybridization of a wide variety of AIEgens with fluorescent molecular probes.