Leading edge biosensing applications based on AIE technology.

Luminescent materials provide a unique method for biological imaging. Luminescent probes can label molecules of interest and present luminescent signals. Bioluminescence bioimaging has shown great efficacy in environmental, live cell and animal studies. Light-emitting materials play a very wide role in the field of light-emitting devices and biosensing. Luminescent materials are usually used as solid films or aggregate states. However, it is difficult to monitor the selectivity and sensitivity of various ions and small molecules in living cells with ordinary luminescent materials due to the changes in various aspects of analytes. Organic luminescent materials exhibit aggregation-induced quenching (ACQ) on molecular aggregation, and the ACQ effect is very common, which greatly limits the application of luminescent materials in chemical sensing, especially in biological imaging. Academician Tang Benzhong proposed "aggregation-induced emission (AIE)" as a powerful method to solve the ACQ problem for the first time. In this paper, the working principle of AIE is reviewed, and the research on the core working mechanism of AIE technology is not only of great fundamental significance, but also can pave the way for practical innovation of AIE technology applications. In this review, we outline the current basic understanding of the working mechanism of AIE, collate the cutting-edge biosensing applications based on AIE technology, including applications based on AIE in substance detection, biological detection, and disease detection. At last, we discuss the future development of AIE research.