Insights into AIE materials: A focus on biomedical applications of fluorescence

Abstract

Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) molecules have garnered considerable interest since its first appearance in 2001. Recent studies on AIE materials in biological and medical areas have demonstrated that they show their promise as biomaterials for bioimaging and other biomedical applications. Benefiting from significant advantages of their high sensitivity, excellent photostability, and good biocompatibility, AIE-based materials provide dramatically improved analytical capacities for in vivo detection and demonstration of vital biological processes. Herein, we introduce the development history of AIE molecules and recent progress in areas of biotesting and bioimaging. Additionally, this review also offers an outlook for the potential applications of versatile AIE materials for tracing and treating pathological tissues, including overcoming challenges and feasible solutions.

Lipophilic AIEgens as the “Trojan Horse” with Discrepant Efficacy in Tracking and Treatment of Mycobacterial Infection

“…This enhancement can be attributed to the restriction of intramolecular motion (RIM) after AIEgen enrichment on the surface of Mm (in the aggregated state), resulting in bright fluorescence being observed, unlike in good solvents where fluorescence is weak. [ 40,41 ] The visible fluorescence images and concentration‐dependent PL intensity affirm that AIEgens possess a strong affinity to Mm , making them promising candidates for mycobacterial imaging.…”

Meta-CF3-Substituted Analogues of the GFP Chromophore with Remarkable Solvatochromism

“…However, in some cases, the opposite effect has been also observed. This phenomenon, known as aggregation-induced emission (AIE), has garnered considerable interest in recent years, not only as a property of individual substances but also as a whole area of research encompassing the development of new fluorescent labels for living systems and various new materials [ 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ]. We found that majority of the compounds described in the article are characterized by pronounced fluorescence in a solid crystalline form ( Supplementary Materials —Solid-State and Aggregation-Induced Emission, Figures S14 and S15 ).…”

Polyaromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH)-Based Aza-POPOPs: Synthesis, Photophysical Studies, and Nitroanalyte Sensing Abilities

“…Additionally, pyrene derivatives, including azole-appended ones, are known to exhibit a well-pronounced fluorescence “turn-off” response toward common nitroatomatic analytes [ 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 ], as well as some nitroaliphatic explosive components [ 49 , 50 ]. In addition, fluorescence- and aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-based small/single-molecule fluorophores, sensors, and probes [ 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 ] are of high demand for biovisualization applications [ 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 ]. Therefore, as a final step, we studied the ability of the present POPOP aza -analogs 3 to detect nitroanalytes.…”