Restriction of molecular motion to a higher level: Towards bright AIE dots for biomedical applications

Changhuo Xu; Hanchen Shen; Tzu-Ming Liu; Ryan T K Kwok; Jacky W Y Lam; Ben Zhong Tang

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.106568

Restriction of molecular motion to a higher level: Towards bright AIE dots for biomedical applications

iScience. 2023 Apr 8;26(5):106568. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106568. eCollection 2023 May 19.

Authors

Changhuo Xu¹, Hanchen Shen¹, Tzu-Ming Liu², Ryan T K Kwok¹, Jacky W Y Lam¹, Ben Zhong Tang^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, Division of Life Science, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Optoelectronic and Magnetic Functional Materials, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
² Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macao, China.
³ School of Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Functional Aggregate, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518172, China.
⁴ Center for Aggregation-Induced Emission, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China.

Abstract

In the late 19th century, scientists began to study the photophysical differences between chromophores in the solution and aggregate states, which breed the recognition of the prototypical processes of aggregation-caused quenching and aggregation-induced emission (AIE). In particular, the conceptual discovery of the AIE phenomenon has spawned the innovation of luminogenic materials with high emission in the aggregate state based on their unique working principle termed the restriction of intramolecular motion. As AIE luminogens have been practically fabricated into AIE dots for bioimaging, further improvement of their brightness is needed although this is technically challenging. In this review, we surveyed the recent advances in strategic molecular engineering of highly emissive AIE dots, including nanoscale crystallization and matrix-assisted rigidification. We hope that this timely summary can deepen the understanding about the root cause of the high emission of AIE dots and provide inspiration to the rational design of functional aggregates.

Keywords: Biomedical materials; Materials chemistry; Materials science.

Publication types

Review