Biology-Oriented Design Strategies of AIE Theranostic Probes

Abstract

Theranostic probes integrate both diagnostics and therapy in one platform that offers direct visualization of biochemical processes and facile treatment for various diseases. Organic fluorogens with aggregation-induced emission (AIEgens) have shown tremendous potentials in meeting the requirement of a multifunctional theranostic probe. Different from traditional fluorogens, AIEgens could be designed to produce strong fluorescence and efficient reactive oxygen species or even high photothermal conversion in the aggregate state, which makes them excellent options for building activatable theranostic probes. So far, AIEgens have been deliberately engineered to empower intelligent targeting, bioimaging, and therapeutic functions, which could influence specific biological behavior and further achieve image-guided treatment of various diseases, such as tumors or bacterial infections. In this review, we mainly focus on how new AIE multifunctional probes have been designed based on the latest advances in biomedicine and chemistry. We summarize the recent biology-oriented design strategies and the corresponding representative examples of AIE probes for diagnosis and treatment of disease. AIE theranostic probes offer a useful platform for developments in biomedicine, showing an exciting future for clinical translation.