Synthesis of tetraphenylethene-based D–A conjugated molecules with near-infrared AIE features, and their application in photodynamic therapy

Abstract

Herein, five aggregation-induced emission (AIE) photosensitizers (PSs) with D-π-A structures, are smoothly designed and synthesized through donor and acceptor engineering. The photophysical properties and theoretical calculation results show that the...

An AIEgen-based “turn-on” probe for sensing cancer cells and tiny tumors with high furin expression

“…3f and g). Given that our AIEgen has a similar structure to the reported AIEgen photosensitizers, 38,39 we tested their phototoxicity by measuring their singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ) generation ability using 9,10anthracenediyl-bis(methylene) dimalonic acid (ABDA). As shown in Fig.…”

Aggregation-induced emission photosensitizer-based photodynamic therapy in cancer: from chemical to clinical

“…Subsequently, a new AIE-PS named TBT was designed using different A, 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (BT) and 2-dicyanomethylene-3-cyano-4,5,5-trimethyl-2,5-dihydrofuran (TCF), linked together by a double bond as the combined A and further linked to the methoxy substituted TPE D. As the combined A of TBT shows a stronger electron withdrawing capacity than the single A, the charge transfer in TBT is stronger than that in TPT, achieving smaller ΔE ST value and the goal of high efficiency of 1 O 2 generation [ 50 ]. So far, most of the reported AIE-PSs have been designed on the basis of this strategy, showing excellent ROS performances [ 70 – 76 ].…”

Molecular engineering to red-shift the absorption band of AIE photosensitizers and improve their ROS generation ability

“…29 An ideal AIE-PS for antitumor PDT with strong singlet oxygen generation efficiency and long-wavelength light excitation (>600 nm) is highly demanded, but rarely reported. 5,10…”

“…However, because of their flat structure and extended p system, these photosensitizers tend to aggregate (p-p stacking) in the aqueous physiological environment, which seriously quenches their fluorescence and attenuates their ROS generation ability. 3,6,10 Therefore, they are used in low concentrations to prevent aggregation, resulting in a high photobleaching rate. Moreover, traditional photosensitizers have alwayson fluorescence and a small Stokes shift, leading to low signal-tonoise ratios in bioimaging.…”