Bacterial infectious diseases, especially those caused by Gram-positive bacteria, have been seriously threatening human health. Preparation of a multifunctional system bearing both rapid bacterial differentiation and effective antibacterial effects is highly in demand, but remains a severe challenge. Herein, we rationally designed and successfully developed a sequence of aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIEgens) with orderly enhanced D–A strength. Evaluation of structure–function relationships reveals that AIEgens having intrinsic positive charge and proper ClogP value are able to stain Gram-positive bacteria. Meanwhile, one of the presented AIEgens (TTPy) can generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) in extraordinarily high efficiency under white light irradiation due to the smaller singlet–triplet energy gap. Thanks to the NIR emission, excellent specificity to Gram-positive bacteria, and effective ROS generation efficiency, TTPy has been proved to perform well in selective photodynamic killing of Gram-positive bacteria in vitro, such as S. aureus and S. epidermidis, even in S. aureus-infected rat wounds.

Aiming to achieve versatile phototheranostics with the integrated functionalities of multiple diagnostic imaging and synergistic therapy, the optimum use of dissipated energy through both radiative and nonradiative pathways is definitely appealing, yet a significantly challenging task. To the best of the knowledge, there have been no previous reports on a single molecular species effective at affording all phototheranostic modalities including fluorescence imaging (FLI), photoacoustic imaging (PAI), photothermal imaging (PTI), photodynamic therapy (PDT), and photothermal therapy (PTT). Herein, a simple and highly powerful one‐for‐all phototheranostics based on aggregation‐induced emission (AIE)‐active fluorophores is tactfully designed and constructed. Thanks to its strong electron donor–acceptor interaction and finely modulated intramolecular motion, the AIE fluorophore‐based nanoparticles simultaneously exhibit bright near‐infrared II (NIR‐II) fluorescence emission, efficient reactive oxygen species generation, and high photothermal conversion efficiency upon NIR irradiation, indicating the actualization of a balance between radiative and nonradiative energy dissipations. Furthermore, the unprecedented performance on NIR‐II FLI‐PAI‐PTI trimodal‐imaging‐guided PDT–PTT synergistic therapy is demonstrated by the precise tumor diagnosis and complete tumor elimination outcomes. This study thus brings a new insight into the development of superior versatile phototheranostics for practical cancer theranostics.

Theranostics referring to the ingenious integration of diagnostics and therapeutics has garnered tremendous attention in these years as it provides a promising opportunity for modern personalized and precision medicine. By virtue of the good biocompatibility, outstanding fluorescence property, easy processability and functionalization, promoted photosensitizing efficiency, as well as facile construction of multi‐modality theranostics, fluorophores with aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) characteristics exhibit inexhaustible and vigorous vitality in the field of theranostics. Numerous significant breakthroughs and state‐of‐the‐art progression have been witnessed in the past few years. This review highlights the tremendous aggregation‐enhanced superiorities of AIE luminogens (AIEgens) in disease theranostics mainly involving diagnostic imaging (fluorescence and room temperature phosphorescence), therapeutic intervention (photodynamic therapy), and feasibility in construction of multi‐modality theranostics based on the experimental measurements and theoretical simulations. Additionally, the latest and advanced developments of AIEgens in disease theranostics in the aspect of corresponding strategies to design highly effective AIE‐active theranostics through triggering aggregation formation are comprehensively summarized. Moreover, a brief conclusion with the discussion of current challenges and future perspectives in this area is further presented.

A novel mitochondrion-specific photo-activatable fluorescence turn-on bioprobe, named as o-TPE-ON+, is designed and readily prepared, operating through a new photoactivatable mechanism of photocyclodehydrogenation. This bioprobe exhibits unique photoactivation behavior in cells, and is applied to super-resolution imaging of mitochondrion and its dynamic investigation in both fixed and live cells under physiological conditions without any external additives.