Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Zhenyan He, Yuting Gao, Huimin Zhang, Ying Xue, Fanling Meng, Liang Luo
Summary: A donor-pi-acceptor photosensitizer with near infrared aggregation-induced emission (AIE) is designed and synthesized for imaging-guided two-photon photodynamic therapy (2P-PDT), demonstrating precise cancer treatment through two-photon excitation in the NIR-II window.
ADVANCED HEALTHCARE MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Yunhui Liao, Ruolan Wang, Shaozhen Wang, Yifan Xie, Huanhao Chen, Runjia Huang, Longquan Shao, Qiuhua Zhu, Yanshan Liu
Summary: The new AIE-active Schiff base TBTDC NPs exhibit good biocompatibility, impressive two-photon bioimaging capability, high O-1(2) generation quantum yield, specific targeting, and photostability in PDT. They also show remarkable cytotoxicity for tumor cells and potential for suppressing tumor growth in nude mice.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2021)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Haijun Ma, Chong Zhao, Haibing Meng, Ruoxin Li, Liucheng Mao, Danning Hu, Mei Tian, Jinying Yuan, Yen Wei
Summary: The development of multifunctional photosensitizers with aggregation-induced emission properties is essential for advancing photodynamic therapy. In this study, a multifunctional PS named DSABBT NPs was designed and prepared to provide ultrafast staining, excellent two-photon bioimaging, and high-efficiency image-guided PDT. DSABBT NPs exhibited bright solid-state fluorescence, high two-photon absorption cross-section, fast staining and imaging capabilities, as well as efficient singlet oxygen generation and image-guided PDT efficiency. Overall, DSABBT NPs show promise as multifunctional photosensitizers for cancer treatment.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Liucheng Mao, Hongye Huang, Danning Hu, Haijun Ma, Mei Tian, Xiaoyong Zhang, Yen Wei
Summary: A novel near-infrared aggregation-induced emission (AIE) fluorescent bioprobe TPA-diCN-F127 NPs with desirable characteristics such as near-infrared emission, large Stokes shift, good dispersibility, and biocompatibility was prepared in this study. Efficient cancer cell damage was demonstrated in vitro upon white light irradiation, indicating the potential capability of TPA-diCN-F127 NPs in imaging-guided PDT.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ming-Yu Wu, Luojia Chen, Qingrong Chen, Rui Hu, Xiaoyu Xu, Yifei Wang, Jie Li, Shun Feng, Changjiang Dong, Xiao-Lian Zhang, Zhiqiang Li, Lianrong Wang, Shi Chen, Meijia Gu
Summary: This study proposes a novel strategy for the treatment of sepsis by combining aggregation-induced emission photosensitizer (AIE-PS) with phages. This strategy effectively removes pathogenic bacteria through a nucleophilic substitution reaction. It retains phage's host specificity and possesses fluorescence imaging and reactive oxygen species (ROS) characteristics for bacteria detection and sterilization. It shows superior bactericidal efficacy in animal models and can quickly diagnose blood infections in clinical samples.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Zijuan Meng, Huiying Xue, Tingting Wang, Biao Chen, Xiyuan Dong, Lili Yang, Jun Dai, Xiaoding Lou, Fan Xia
Summary: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising non-invasive cancer treatment, but traditional photosensitizers have limitations. Aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-PSs, with their unique structure, exhibit enhanced photosensitivity in the aggregated state. This review discusses the design and preparation of AIE-PSs, their preclinical experiments in treating different types of tumors, and the potential clinical applications. It also presents perspectives on the further development of AIE-PSs.
JOURNAL OF NANOBIOTECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Jun Dai, Simin Wei, Jiarong Xu, Huiying Xue, Zhaojun Chen, Meng Wu, Wei Chen, Xiaoding Lou, Fan Xia, Shixuan Wang
Summary: A microneedle-based device combined with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) photosensitizers (PSs) was constructed to achieve enhanced metronomic photodynamic therapy (mPDT) for cancer. The strong anti-photobleaching property of the AIE PS allows for superior photosensitivity even after prolonged light exposure. The delivery of the AIE PS to the tumor through the microneedle device provides better treatment outcomes and convenience.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yingcai Hu, Sheng-Yan Yin, Zuhao Li, Wenchen Qi, Yun Chen, Jishan Li
Summary: In this study, a quinolinyl-AIE photosensitizer with alternative elevated ISC rate was designed and synthesized, showing highly efficient photosensitivity, tumor cell specificity, and excellent mitochondrial targeting ability. In vitro experiments demonstrated that the photosensitizer induced tumor cell death with low radiation dose, while exhibiting no obvious toxicity to normal cells. In vivo studies on a mouse model also verified the high efficiency of this photosensitizer in PDT.
CHEMICAL COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Sichao Tian, Jiangling He, Da Lyu, Shuang Li, Qing-Hua Xu
Summary: Metal nanoparticle conjugates with aggregated induced emission show enhanced therapeutic effects for cancer treatment, making them attractive multifunctional agents.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Shanliang Song, Yue Zhao, Miaomiao Kang, Zhijun Zhang, Qian Wu, Shuang Fu, Youmei Li, Haifei Wen, Dong Wang, Ben Zhong Tang
Summary: The innovative design of versatile cancer phototheranostics utilizing fluorescence imaging (FLI) and photodynamic and photothermal therapies (PDT, PTT) has sparked interest. By employing side-chain engineering, researchers successfully developed an AIE-active multifunctional phototheranostic system (TBFT2 nanoparticles) for FLI-guided PDT and PTT synergistic cancer therapy, showcasing the potential of side-chain engineering in creating superior versatile phototheranostics.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Tianwei Li, Zhe Xu, Hong Chen, Shijie Zhen, Hua Gu, Zujin Zhao, Ben Zhong Tang
Summary: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has many advantages including precise control, noninvasiveness, high efficiency, and spatiotemporal selectivity. However, most currently used photosensitizers have drawbacks of weak light absorption and low reactive oxygen species generation ability. By introducing highly electronegative nitrogen atom, two photostable photosensitizers are designed to have high absorption coefficient and efficient ROS generation ability.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Shengming Gan, Wenbo Wu, Guangxue Feng, Zhiming Wang, Bin Liu, Ben Zhong Tang
Summary: This study presents a universal method to fabricate organic nanoparticles with controllable sizes and finds that approximately 45 nm is the optimal size for AIE nanoparticles in photodynamic therapy (PDT). Unlike conventional nanoparticles, AIE nanoparticles show enhanced fluorescence and ROS generation as their sizes increase from 6 to approximately 45 nm. Further increase in size enhances brightness but reduces ROS production. Experimental results confirm that 45 nm AIE nanoparticles exhibit the highest cellular uptake, deepest penetration depth, and best photodynamic killing effect.
Article
Spectroscopy
Yinchan Wang, Weihua Zhuang, Sisi Wu, Zhenyu Duan, Shufen Li, Jingruo Chen, Linsen Zhou, Yongjie Zhou, Chengming Li, Mao Chen
Summary: Selective labelling of the plasma membrane (PM) using a carbazole-based probe CPPPy allows for intuitive analysis of cell status and dynamic changes. CPPPy selectively accumulates at the PM of living cells and can light up the PM even at a low concentration. It also has potential for photodynamic therapy in tumor cells. This study provides new insights into the development of multifunctional fluorescence probes for PM-specific bioimaging and photodynamic therapy.
SPECTROCHIMICA ACTA PART A-MOLECULAR AND BIOMOLECULAR SPECTROSCOPY
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Analytical
Jiahe Zhou, Fen Qi, Yuncong Chen, Shuren Zhang, Xiaoxue Zheng, Weijiang He, Zijian Guo
Summary: This review summarizes the design strategies and applications of aggregation-induced emission luminogen (AIEgen)-based photosensitizers (PSs) for improved photodynamic therapy (PDT) efficacy. The review introduces the research background and basic knowledge, and summarizes the recent approaches of AIEgen-based PSs in two categories: organelle-targeting PSs and tumor-targeting PSs. Finally, current challenges and future opportunities are discussed.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Wentao Wang, Fan Wu, Qicheng Zhang, Ninglin Zhou, Ming Zhang, Tao Zheng, Yuanyuan Li, Ben Zhong Tang
Summary: By synthesizing quaternary amine functionalized aggregation-induced emission (AIE) materials to produce singlet oxygen and heat, the nanoparticles selectively targeted Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, exhibiting significant antibacterial performance.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Chunbin Li, Guoyu Jiang, Jia Yu, Weiwei Ji, Lingxiu Liu, Pengfei Zhang, Jian Du, Chuanlang Zhan, Jianguo Wang, Ben Zhong Tang
Summary: This study proposes a fluorination strategy for designing phototheranostic agents (PTAs) with improved fluorescence quantum yield (QY) and photothermal conversion efficiency (PCE). The experimental results showed that the fluorinated PTAs nanoparticles (NPs) had increased molar extinction coefficient (epsilon), NIR-II QY, and PCE compared to the chlorinated counterparts. Theoretical calculations suggested that fluorination could maximize the electrostatic potential difference, enhance intra/intermolecular interactions, and tighten molecule packing, leading to the simultaneous enhancement of QY and PCE. The fluorinated PTAs nanoparticles demonstrated high performance in high-resolution imaging and photothermal therapy of tumors. This study provides valuable guidance for constructing high-performance NIR-II organic PTAs.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zequan Yan, Junqiang Mao, Xiang Hao, Bo Guan, Zheng Zhao, Xin Zhou, Ben Zhong Tang, Qingrui Fan, Jianjun Wang
Summary: In this study, a freeze assembly strategy was used to precisely tune the diameter of aggregation-induced emission luminogen nanoparticles (AIEgen NPs) and obtain molecular packing in kinetically trapped states. This led to tunable fluorescence emissions. Therefore, this study provides an important tool for fabricating organic luminescent nanomaterials with diameters smaller than 5 nm, which is critical for biomedical applications. Additionally, tuning molecular packing in nanoparticles displaying different fluorescence may help to shed new light on the mechanism of AIEgens.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Wentao Wang, Yumeng Gao, Ming Zhang, Yuanyuan Li, Ben Zhong Tang
Summary: A biomimetic neutrophil-like aggregation-induced emission nanorobot (CM@ AIE NPs) was developed for precise inflammatory site homing and efficient photothermal therapy. It demonstrated good biocompatibility and excellent antibacterial effects, providing a new strategy for broad-spectrum antibacterial applications.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jianxing Wang, Jie Li, Zipeng Shen, Dong Wang, Ben Zhong Tang
Summary: In this study, phospholipid-mimetic aggregation induced emission luminogens (AIEgens) were developed to selectively eliminate both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. By utilizing the different structure of two bacterial membranes and the regulated length of substituted alkyl chains of AIEgens, these AIEgens can anchor onto the bacterial membrane and kill bacteria. AIEgens with short alkyl chains exhibit selective ablation to Gram-positive bacteria, while AIEgens with long alkyl chains selectively destroy the membranes of Gram-negative bacteria. Fluorescent imaging and in vitro/in vivo experiments confirm the extraordinary antibacterial selectivity of these AIEgens towards both types of bacteria. This research could contribute to the development of species-specific antibacterial agents.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Shipeng Ning, Meng Lyu, Daoming Zhu, Jacky W. Y. Lam, Qinqin Huang, Tianfu Zhang, Ben Zhong Tang
Summary: A platelet vesicle (PV) coated cuprous oxide nanoparticle (Cu2O)/TBP-2 cuproptosis sensitization system (PTC) was constructed for multiple induction of tumor cuproptosis. PTC can enhance its long-term blood circulation and tumor targeting ability and release copper ions and hydrogen peroxides under acid conditions in tumor cells. It can inhibit copper efflux and induce cuproptosis, effectively preventing tumor rechallenge.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jingjing Guo, Jianqing Li, Tai Wu, Xiaoluo Peng, Shihuai Wang, Zujin Zhao, Yong Hua, Ben Zhong Tang, Yanli Zhao
Summary: This study develops a series of aggregation induced emission luminogens (AIEgens) based on 2,3-diphenylbenzo[b]thiophene S,S-dioxide (DP-BTO) with sensitive photoresponsive behavior. The impacts of substituents with different electronic structures are investigated and the photoresponsive activity is found to be resulted from triplet diradical-mediated intramolecular photocyclization. The generated triplet diradical intermediates can effectively inhibit the growth of S. aureus, demonstrating their potential as antibacterial agents.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Kang Wang, Junkai Liu, Peiying Liu, Dong Wang, Ting Han, Ben Zhong Tang
Summary: Fluorescent main-chain charged polyelectrolytes (MCCPs) with complex structures were successfully synthesized using a new polymerization strategy. The MCCPs exhibited excellent solution processability, high thermal stability, and dual-state fluorescence. By modifying the substituents around the cationic core, multicolored aggregate-state fluorescence can be achieved. The fluorescent MCCP thin films can be used to create fluorescent photopatterns for optical display devices and anticounterfeiting systems.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Jiangling He, Youling He, Xiao Wu, Xiangyu Zhang, Rongrong Hu, Ben Zhong Tang, Qing-Hua Xu
Summary: Photothermal therapy is a promising medical treatment that uses light absorption agents to convert light into heat for cancer cell ablation. This study introduces a high-performance combinational therapy involving photothermal therapy and chemotherapy to improve treatment efficiency. Using AuNR@mSiO2 nanoparticles loaded with Doxorubicin, the therapy achieved both enhanced anticancer capability and real-time imaging-guided treatment.
ACS APPLIED BIO MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Yifan Wu, Xiaohui Chen, Liwei Zhu, Deliang Wang, Xue Li, Jiayi Song, Dong Wang, Xiyong Yu, Ying Li, Ben Zhong Tang
Summary: This study introduces a photodynamic therapy based on aggregation-induced emission and production of reactive oxygen species. By binding with the endoplasmic reticulum and working in synergy with a diabetes drug, it successfully induces cancer cell apoptosis and triggers fatal stress response between the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Polymer Science
Zhen-zhen Fu, Wei He, Yihang Yao, Ryan Tsz Kin Kwok, Jacky Wing Yip Lam, Ke Wang, Ben Zhong Tang, Qiang Fu
Summary: Solution casting is a common processing method in industrial production, and the phase-structure transitions driven by solvent evaporation directly impact the quality of the final film. This study investigated the structural transitions and heterogeneity of a poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) film during water evaporation using glycerol as a plasticizer. The results showed that the plasticizer can delay structural transitions and improve heterogeneity, providing important theoretical guidance for the preparation of polymer films via solution casting.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Dian Xie, Pengbo Han, Chengwei Lin, Xianfeng Qiao, Dezhi Yang, Yanfeng Dai, Qian Sun, Anjun Qin, Ben Zhong Tang, Dongge Ma
Summary: Hot exciton molecules that enable efficient fluorescence organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) have been studied, but the understanding of their dynamic behavior is still lacking. This study investigates the exciton dynamics of an aggregation-induced emission (AIE) molecule and quantifies the proportion of different processes. By optimizing the device structure and introducing a triplet-triplet annihilation up-conversion layer, the resulting OLED achieves high efficiency and long operational lifetime. This work provides fundamental insights for the development of efficient blue fluorescence OLEDs.
ADVANCED OPTICAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Haiyang Wang, Tian Qin, Wen Wang, Xie Zhou, Faxu Lin, Guodong Liang, Zhiyong Yang, Zhenguo Chi, Ben Zhong Tang
Summary: In this study, new selenium-containing type-I photosensitizers Se6 and Se5 with benzoselenadiazole acceptor were designed and showed aggregation-induced emission characteristic. Se6 exhibited a smaller energy gap (Delta E-ST) of 0.03 eV and improved ROS efficiency, generating both long-lived superoxide anion (O-2(center dot-)) and short-lived hydroxyl ((OH)-O-center dot) upon irradiation. Simultaneous processes to produce (OH)-O-center dot were revealed, including disproportionation of O-2(center dot-) and reaction between excited PS and water. Se6 demonstrated superior in-vitro PDT performance to commercial chlorin e6 (Ce6) under normoxia or hypoxia, and a significantly higher tumor growth inhibition rate of 99% was observed in the in-vivo PDT performance of Se6. These findings provide new insights for both molecular design and mechanism study of type-I photosensitizers.
Article
Polymer Science
Yang Hu, Lihui Zhang, Zhuang Wang, Rongrong Hu, Ben Zhong Tang
Summary: In this work, a method for the multicomponent polymerizations of sulfur, aromatic diamines, and aromatic dialdehydes with the assistance of KOH was developed. The polymerizations utilized commercially available monomers and resulted in high molecular weights and yields of aromatic polythioamides. These polythioamides exhibited excellent thermal stability, good solubility, high refractive index, and could be used for gold extraction. This method provides an economical and efficient approach for the synthesis of unique aromatic polythioamides on a large scale, accelerating the exploration of sulfur-containing polymers as high-performance functional materials.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Jun-Cheng Yang, Zhiyuan Fu, Huili Ma, Tao Wang, Qiuying Li, Kai Wang, Lin Wu, Pu Chen, Hai-Tao Feng, Ben Zhong Tang
Summary: A novel emitter (DCzPy) was synthesized and its stimuli-responsive luminescence was studied. The emitter showed bluegreen fluorescence in the crystalline state, with dramatically enhanced and hypsochromic-shifted fluorescence upon gentle grinding. The emission wavelength returned to the original state after further heavy grinding. Under isotropic compression, the emitter exhibited a large bathochromic-shifted and weakened fluorescence. In addition, in the film state, the emission color of the emitter changed from green to blue as the temperature increased.
ACS MATERIALS LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jianye Gong, Lingxiu Liu, Chunbin Li, Yumao He, Jia Yu, Ying Zhang, Lina Feng, Guoyu Jiang, Jianguo Wang, Ben Zhong Tang
Summary: Type I photosensitizers with aggregation-induced emission have shown great potential for therapeutic applications. However, improving their reactive oxygen species generation capability remains a challenge. In this study, an oxidization strategy was proposed to enhance the efficiency of ROS generation in aggregation-induced emission type I photosensitizers.
