AIEgen-loaded nanofibrous membrane as photodynamic/photothermal antimicrobial surface for sunlight-triggered bioprotection

Abstract

The outbreak of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 causes an urgent need for abundant personal protective equipment (PPE) which leads to a huge shortage of raw materials. Additionally, the inappropriate disposal and sterilization of PPE may result in a high risk of cross-contamination. Therefore, the exploration of antimicrobial materials possessing both microbe interception and self-decontamination effects to develop reusable and easy-to-sterilize PPE is of great importance. Herein, an aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-active luminogen-loaded nanofibrous membrane (TTVB@NM) sharing sunlight-triggered photodynamic/photothermal anti-pathogen functions are prepared using the electrospinning technique. Thanks to its porous nanostructure, TTVB@NM shows excellent interception effects toward ultrafine particles and pathogenic aerosols. Benefiting from the superior photophysical properties of the AIE-active dopants, TTVB@NM exhibits integrated properties of wide absorption in visible light range, efficient ROS generation, and moderate photothermal conversion performance. A series of antimicrobial evaluations reveal that TTVB@NM could effectively inactivate pathogenic aerosols containing bacteria (inhibition rate: >99%), fungi (~88%), and viruses (>99%) within only 10 min sunlight irradiation. This study represents a new strategy to construct reusable and easy-to-sterilize hybrid materials for potential bioprotective applications.

The fast-growing field of photo-driven theranostics based on aggregation-induced emission

“…In this regard, a series of structurally twisted and charged AIEgens were reported for high-performance multimodal theranostic applications in the form of single-component AIE dots. [291][292][293][294][295][296] As a representative example, three positively charged AIE compounds named TAM, TSAM and TSSAM were prepared (Fig. 25g).…”

Fibrous aggregates: Amplifying aggregation-induced emission to boost health protection

“…Wang et al incorporated this molecule into poly (vinylidene fluoride- co -hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP), electrospinning technique was followed to obtain nanofibrous membrane (TTVB@NM) as shown in Fig. 9 a [ 104 ]. Upon sunlight irradiation, TTVB@NM could produce massive ROS and moderate photothermal conversion properties, exhibiting photodynamic and photothermal broad-spectrum inactivation of bacteria (inhibition rate: >99%), fungi (∼88%), and viruses (>99%) ( Fig.…”

A Fast-Response AIE-Active Ratiometric Fluorescent Probe for the Detection of Carboxylesterase

“…Furthermore, with the unique features of a large sion" perfectly circumvent these problems [47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54]. Furthermore, with the unique of a large Stokes shift, high resistance to photobleaching, and strong brightness, A are now widely studied and applied in various fields of chemo/biosensing, theranostics, and organic light-emitting diodes [55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62]. However, small-molecu rescent probes for CaE based on AIEgens are reported in small quantities [32,63,6 probes with AIE features are still in high demand to make full use of their advan Here, in this article, a new small-molecular fluorescent probe (TCFISE) for t and reliable ratiometric measurement of CaE was designed and synthesized.…”

“…Aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIEgens) with the property of a “more aggregate, brighter emission” perfectly circumvent these problems [ 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 ]. Furthermore, with the unique features of a large Stokes shift, high resistance to photobleaching, and strong brightness, AIEgens are now widely studied and applied in various fields of chemo/biosensing, disease theranostics, and organic light-emitting diodes [ 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 ]. However, small-molecular fluorescent probes for CaE based on AIEgens are reported in small quantities [ 32 , 63 , 64 ].…”