Multifunctional Fluorescent Material Based Red-emitting Carbon Dots for Cell Imaging and Photodynamic Sterilization.

In this paper, a new carbon dot (R1-CDs) was prepared by one-pot hydrothermal method by using 1,8-diaminonaphthalene and o-phthalic acid (o-PA) as precursors. Due to the high purity of R1-CDs, NMR analysis was performed to identify the types of H and C atoms in their graphene sheets. From our research findings, three important information was disclosed such as (1) five types H atoms are presented in R1-CDs; (2) 18 kinds of C atoms in the graphene sheets are observed, and 8 kinds of them are quaternary atoms, and 10 kinds of carbon atoms as tertiary one; (3) functional groups of -COOH and -NH2 from precursors cannot be inherited into the edges or defect sites of graphene sheet.

A planar electronic acceptor motif contributing to NIR-II AIEgen with combined imaging and therapeutic applications.

Designing molecules with donor-acceptor-donor (D-A-D) architecture plays an important role in obtaining second near-infrared region (NIR-II, 1000-1700 nm) fluorescent dyes for biomedical applications; however, this always comes with a challenge due to very limited electronic acceptors. On the other hand, to endow NIR-II fluorescent dyes with combined therapeutic applications, trivial molecular design is indispensable. Herein, we propose a pyrazine-based planar electronic acceptor with a strong electron affinity, which can be used to develop NIR-II fluorescent dyes.

Supramolecular Assembly Based on Calix(4)arene and Aggregation-Induced Emission Photosensitizer for Phototherapy of Drug-Resistant Bacteria and Skin Flap Transplantation.

Photodynamic therapy as a burgeoning and non-invasive theranostic technique has drawn great attention in the field of antibacterial treatment but often encounters undesired phototoxicity of photosensitizers during systemic circulation. Herein, a supramolecular substitution strategy is proposed for phototherapy of drug-resistant bacteria and skin flap repair by using macrocyclic p-sulfonatocalix(4)arene (SC4A) as a host, and two cationic aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIEgens), namely TPE-QAS and TPE-2QAS, bearing quaternary ammonium group(s) as guests. Through host-guest assembly, the obtained complex exhibits obvious blue fluorescence in the solution due to the restriction of free motion of AIEgens and drastically inhibits efficient type I ROS generation.

A ratiometric fluorescent probe for rapid and specific detection of hypochlorite.

Hypochlorite (ClO ), as a kind of essential reactive oxygen species, plays a crucial role in vitro and in vivo. Here, a ratiometric fluorescent probe (TPAM) was designed and constructed for sensing ClO based on substituted triphenylamine and malononitrile, which exhibited obvious colour transfer from orange to colourless under daylight accompanied by noticeable fluorescence change from red to green in response to ClO . TPAM could effectively monitor ClO with the merits of fast response, excellent selectivity, high sensitivity and a low detection limit of 0.

Engineering Isomeric AIEgens Containing Tetraphenylpyrazine for Dual Memory Storage.

Tetraphenylpyrazine (TPP) is a promising heterocycle-based aggregation-induced emission luminogen (AIEgen) which has sparked multiple applications in organic light-emitting diodes, sensors, and biotherapy. However, the utility of it in developing information storage materials is relatively rare. Moreover, TPP is mostly employed as an electronic acceptor in molecular design, while the consideration of it as an electronic donor is attractive in studies which may provide a full understanding of its property to tailor the materials.

Type I Photosensitization with Strong Hydroxyl Radical Generation in NIR Dye Boosted by Vigorous Intramolecular Motions for Synergistic Therapy.

Development of type I photosensitizers (PSs) with strong hydroxyl radical ( OH) formation is particularly important in the anaerobic tumor treatment. On the other hand, it is challenging to obtain an efficient solid-state intramolecular motion to promote the development of molecular machine and molecular motor. However, the relationship between them is never revealed.

In Situ Imaging and Anti-inflammation of 3D Printed Scaffolds Enabled by AIEgen.

Three-dimensional (3D) printed bioactive scaffolds have been widely used in the field of bone tissue engineering. However, its in vivo visualization and bacterial inflammation are intractable issues during the surgery and treatment. Herein, we first synthesized an aggregation-induced emission-active luminogen (AIEgen) named with efficient reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation.

A Highly Efficient Fluorescent Sensor Based on AIEgen for Detection of Nitrophenolic Explosives.

The detection of nitrophenolic explosives is important in counterterrorism and environmental protection, but it is still a challenge to identify the nitroaromatic compounds among those with a similar structure. Herein, a simple tetraphenylethene (TPE) derivative with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics was synthesized and used as a fluorescent sensor for the detection of nitrophenolic explosives (2, 4, 6-trinitrophenol, TNP and 2, 4-dinitrophenol, DNP) in water solution and in a solid state with a high selectivity. Meanwhile, it was found that only hydroxyl containing nitrophenolic explosives caused obvious fluorescence quenching.

Mechanical Force-Induced Blue-Shifted and Enhanced Emission for AIEgens.

Mechanochromic (MC) luminescence of organic molecules has been emerging as a promising smart material for optical recording and memory devices. At the same time, pressure-induced blue-shifted and enhanced luminescence are rarely reported now. Herein, a series of cyanostilbene-based AIEgens with different substituents were synthesized to evaluate the influence of morphology transformation and push-pull electronic effect on the MC luminescence.

Visualization of Enantiorecognition and Resolution by Chiral AIEgens.

Enantioselective recognition and separation have attracted much attention in pharmaceutical analysis, food chemistry, and life science. Herein, we propose an efficient strategy to achieve such purposes using optically active luminogens with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics. These AIE luminogens (AIEgens) show strong enantiomeric discrimination for 12 kinds of chiral acids and unprotected amino acids.

Chiral assembly of organic luminogens with aggregation-induced emission.

Chirality is important to chemistry, biology and optoelectronic materials. The study on chirality has lasted for more than 170 years since its discovery. Recently, chiral materials with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) have attracted increasing interest because of their fascinating photophysical properties.

A synergy between the push-pull electronic effect and twisted conformation for high-contrast mechanochromic AIEgens.

Mechanochromic (MC) luminogens in response to external stimulus have shown promising applications as pressure sensors and memory devices. Meanwhile, research on their underlying mechanism is still in the initial stage. Here, three pyridinium-functionalized tetraphenylethylenes bearing n-pentyloxy, hydrogen and nitro groups, namely TPE-OP, TPE-H and TPE-NO, are designed to systematically investigate the influence of the push-pull electronic effect and molecular conformation on MC luminescence.

Enantioselective recognition of chiral acids by supramolecular interactions with chiral AIEgens.

Novel chiral AIEgens bearing optically pure amino groups were synthesized and showed excellent discrimination for a series of chiral acidic compounds and amino acids. Interestingly, after supramolecular assembly with 4-sulfocalix[4]arene, the obtained complexes showed enhanced enantioselectivity for chiral acids.

Glycopeptide-Conjugated Aggregation-Induced Emission Luminogen: A pH-Responsive Fluorescence Probe with Tunable Self-Assembly Morphologies for Cell Imaging.

pH values play an important role in various cell biological processes. Abnormal pH values in living systems are frequently associated with the development of diseases such as cancers, infection, and other diseases. Real-time monitoring of the changes of pH values will give us the significant indication for these diseases' progression.

Substitution Activated Precise Phototheranostics through Supramolecular Assembly of AIEgen and Calixarene.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising noninvasive therapeutic technique and has attracted increasing interests in preclinical trials. However, the translation from laboratory to clinic often encounters the problem of undesired dark cytotoxicity of photosensitizers (PSs). Now, this challenge can be addressed by cascaded substitution activated phototheranostics using the host-guest strategy.

Tuning Push-Pull Electronic Effects of AIEgens to Boost the Theranostic Efficacy for Colon Cancer.

Colon cancer is one of the most common cancers with high mortality in humans. Early diagnosis and treatment of colon cancer is of great significance for cancer therapy. Numerous theranostic agents have been developed to detect and kill cancer cells.

Tuning molecular emission of organic emitters from fluorescence to phosphorescence through push-pull electronic effects.

Organic emitters with persistent phosphorescence have shown potential application in optoelectronic devices. However, rational design and phosphorescence tuning are still challenging. Here, a series of metal-free luminophores without heavy atoms and carbonyl groups from commercial/lab-synthesized carbazole and benzene were synthesized to realize tunable molecular emission from fluorescence to phosphorescence by simply substituent variation.

Ratiometric Detection of Mitochondrial Thiol with a Two-Photon Active AIEgen.

In clinical studies, thiol measurement in the whole blood is of diagnostic and prognostic significance. In addition, the detection of mitochondrial thiol is very important for investigating cellular functions or dysfunctions. Here, a ratiometric aggregation-induced emission luminogen (AIEgen) called TPE-PBP for thiol detection was developed by introducing a -dinitrophenoxy benzylpyridinium moiety to tetraphenylethylene.

Macrocycles and cages based on tetraphenylethylene with aggregation-induced emission effect.

Organic molecules with an aggregation-induced emission (AIE) effect have recently been attracting more and more attention due to their colossal potential in solid emitters and chemo/biosensors. The number and variety of AIEgen compounds are expanding very rapidly to obtain better application performance and a wider area of application. Among AIEgen systems, tetraphenylethylene (TPE) and its derivatives are the class that have received the most extensive study and the most rapid development because of their facile synthesis.

Dual fluorescence of tetraphenylethylene-substituted pyrenes with aggregation-induced emission characteristics for white-light emission.

This article presents a new strategy to achieve white-light emission from single tetraphenylethylene-substituted pyrenes (TPE-Pys) with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics. TPE-Pys were synthesized by a Pd-catalyzed coupling reaction of a boronic acid or pinacol ester of pyrene and tetraphenylethylene (TPE) derivatives and showed multicolor emission by introducing different substituents on the phenyl rings of TPE. TPE-Pys with a TPE unit at the 1-position and asymmetric TPE units at 2,7-positions show dual fluorescence in THF/water mixtures to realize white-light emission with CIE coordinates of ( = 0.

Tetraphenylethylene Foldamers with Double Hairpin-Turn Linkers, TNT-Binding Mode and Detection of Highly Diluted TNT Vapor.

Tetraphenylethylene (TPE) foldamers with double hairpin-turn linkers showing an aggregation-induced emission (AIE) effect have been synthesized for the first time. A crystal structure of a foldamer-TNT complex has been obtained, enabling unprecedented direct observation of the interactions between TNT molecules and the chromophores of the foldamer. Instead of π-π stacking interactions, which have often been considered to be the key mechanism in the binding of TNT by chromophoric receptors, strong n-π interactions between the nitro groups of TNT and the aromatic rings of the foldamer have been found.

Hypaconitine inhibits TGF-β1-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition and suppresses adhesion, migration, and invasion of lung cancer A549 cells.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been implicated in tumor invasion and metastasis and provides novel strategies for cancer therapy. Hypaconitine (HpA), a diester-diterpenoid alkaloid isolated from the root of the Aconitum species, exhibits anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and especially, cardiotoxic activities. Here, we reported the anti-metastatic potentials of HpA in transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1)-induced EMT in lung cancer A549 cells.