Functional quinoline-malononitriles for enhanced wound repair and monitoring

Wound healing is a complex biological process that, when disrupted, can result in chronic wounds and substantial healthcare burdens. Materials that enhance wound repair while enabling real-time monitoring represent a significant advancement in wound management. In this study, we report a series of fluorescent quinoline-malononitrile (QM) derivatives with aggregate-induced emission (AIE) properties and evaluate their therapeutic potential in dermal and epidermal cell models. Cytotoxicity assays revealed selective proliferative and anti-proliferative effects across different QM analogues. Notably, QOne (1) and MeQM (4) promoted keratinocyte proliferation, a critical step in re-epithelialisation. In a 3D in vitro wound model, both compounds significantly enhanced wound repair, accelerating the regeneration of the stratified epidermis and dermal matrix compared to untreated controls. Their intrinsic fluorescence also enabled real-time tracking of compound localisation during healing in a 3D in vitro wound model. These findings highlighted AIE-active molecules such as QOne (1) and MeQM (4) as promising dual-function agents for therapeutic intervention and fluorescence-guided wound monitoring.