Aggregation-Induced Generation of Reactive Oxygen Species: Mechanism and Photosensitizer Construction

Molecules. 2021 Jan 7;26(2):268. doi: 10.3390/molecules26020268.

Abstract

Luminogens with aggregation-induced emission (AIEgens) have been widely applied in the field of photodynamic therapy. Among them, aggregation-induced emission photosensitizers (AIE-PSs) are demonstrated with high capability in fluorescence and photoacoustic bimodal imaging, as well as in fluorescence imaging-guided photodynamic therapy. They not only improve diagnosis accuracy but also provide an efficient theranostic platform to accelerate preclinical translation as well. In this short review, we divide AIE-PSs into three categories. Through the analysis of such classification and construction methods, it will be helpful for scientists to further develop various types of AIE-PSs with superior performance.

Keywords: aggregation-induced emission; electron transfer; energy transfer; photodynamic therapy; reactive oxygen species.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Bacteria / metabolism
  • Bacteria / virology
  • Fluorescence
  • Models, Molecular
  • Models, Theoretical
  • Molecular Structure
  • Photochemical Processes
  • Photochemotherapy
  • Photosensitizing Agents / chemistry*
  • Photosensitizing Agents / metabolism
  • Reactive Oxygen Species / chemistry*
  • Reactive Oxygen Species / metabolism
  • Theranostic Nanomedicine / methods

Substances

  • Photosensitizing Agents
  • Reactive Oxygen Species