Aggregation-Induced Emission: Lighting up Cells, Revealing Life!

Area of Science:

• Biomedical imaging
• Molecular imaging
• Cellular biology

Background:

• Understanding cellular metabolism and organismal physiology is key for disease diagnosis and personalized medicine.
• Fluorescence imaging is vital for biological investigations, with fluorescent molecules being critical for image quality.
• Aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) effect limits conventional fluorogens, whereas aggregation-induced emission (AIE) offers new possibilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent advances in AIE-based probes for biomedical imaging.
• To highlight the application of AIE probes in diverse biological contexts.
• To foster research enthusiasm for AIE-based bioimaging and probe development.

Main Methods:

• Review of recent literature on AIE probes in bioimaging.
• Summarization of AIE probe characteristics and applications.
• Analysis of AIE probe performance in various biological systems.

Main Results:

• AIE probes exhibit high fluorescence efficiency, photostability, and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).
• Developed AIE probes are applied to imaging intracellular microenvironments, macromolecules, organelles, and processes.
• AIE probes are utilized for in vivo imaging, disease diagnosis, and therapeutic evaluation.

Conclusions:

• AIE probes represent a significant advancement over ACQ fluorogens for bioimaging.
• The unique properties of AIE probes enable comprehensive biological understanding and improved medical diagnostics.
• Continued development of AIE probes promises to enhance personalized medicine and our fundamental knowledge of life.