Fabrication of fluorescent nanoparticles based on AIE luminogens (AIE dots) and their applications in bioimaging

摘要

Fluorescent nanoparticles (NPs) represent a new group of contrast agents for bioimaging. One of the challenging problems in this area is to fabricate fluorescent NPs with improved brightness, photostability and biocompatibility. The recently discovered aggregation-induced emission (AIE) luminogens, which exhibit enhanced emission upon aggregate formation, may circumvent these problems. Incorporating AIE fluorophores into the NP platform results in AIE dots with greatly enhanced fluorescence efficiency and superior photostability. In this review, we will summarize our effort in the last five years on the fabrication of AIE dots and their applications in bioimaging.