Recent advances of aggregation-induced emission luminogens for point-of-care biosensing systems

The rapid and sensitive detection of chemical compounds in body fluids and tissues is important for diagnosis of diseases and assessment of the effectiveness of treatment programs. Point-of-care (POC) sensors based on fluorescence signals have been widely used in the rapid detection of various infectious diseases. However, the aggregation-caused quenching phenomenon of conventional fluorescent probes limits the sensitivity and accuracy of fluorescent POC sensors. In this review, we first focus on aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-based POC detection for early diagnosis of diseases and then describe how to use mechanisms of AIE to improve the sensitivity of POC testing. This review gives a summary of the design mechanisms of AIE probes in AIE-based biosensors. Subsequently, it summarizes the design strategies of AIE-based POC sensors in the detection of ions, small molecules, nucleic acids, proteins, and whole entity (cells, bacteria, viruses, and exosomes), placing an emphasis on signal amplification. Finally, it gives an overview of AIE-based POC biosensors, including probes, instruments, and applications. We hope that this review will provide valuable guidance for further expanding the application of AIE luminogens in POC biosensors.