Conjugated Aggregation-Induced Fluorescent Materials for Biofluorescent Probes: A Review

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biotechnology
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Common fluorescent materials suffer from aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) in condensed states, limiting their biological applications.
• Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) materials exhibit enhanced luminescence in aggregate states, overcoming ACQ limitations.
• AIE materials offer potential for biolabeling, ion detection, and physiological monitoring due to their properties and low toxicity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the molecular design strategies for AIE materials used as biofluorescent probes.
• To discuss various classes of AIE materials and their functional groups relevant to bioimaging.
• To explore design concepts and future trends for high-performance AIE biofluorescent probes.

Main Methods:

• Review of literature on AIE materials and their applications in biofluorescent probes.
• Categorization of AIE materials based on molecular structure (e.g., tetrastyrene, distilbene anthracene, triphenylamine, hexaphenylsilole).
• Analysis of design strategies including donor-acceptor systems and hydrogen-bonding interactions.

Main Results:

• AIE materials provide a promising alternative to ACQ materials for biofluorescent probes.
• Specific AIE material classes and design strategies (D-A systems, hydrogen bonding) are effective for bioimaging.
• Challenges remain in optimizing biocompatibility and metabolism for in vivo applications.

Conclusions:

• AIE materials are crucial for developing advanced biofluorescent probes.
• Molecular design is key to enhancing AIE material performance for biological applications.
• Further research is needed to address biocompatibility and metabolism for clinical translation.