Themed collection FOCUS: Luminescent materials for biomedicine

This paper reviews the potential of self-assembled phthalocyanine-based nano-photosensitizers for overcoming the limitations of photodynamic therapy (PDT) in treating hypoxic tumors.

A dual-heteroatom–lanthanide cluster-embedded polyoxotungstate was prepared and used for sequential fluorescence detection of Fe³⁺ and pyrophosphate.

We describe the interactions between iridium(III) complexes and peptides and the emerging applications of iridium(III)–peptide bioconjugates in biomedical fields, summarizing and commenting on their widespread applications for bioimaging and therapy.

This review mainly summarizes the research advances in synthetic strategies, optical properties, and biomedical applications of red-emissive carbon dots in recent years.

Organelle imaging is an efficient approach to gain information about intracellular events and dynamics of subcellular structures.

The disorder of metal ion levels can have a significant impact on the ecological environment and human health due to their crucial role in complex biological metabolism processes and the overall ecological balance. Multiple magnetic resonance probes are used for detecting these metal ions.

This review summarizes recent advances in the application of manganese dioxide and its composites for theranostics.

This work summarizes the recent development of AIE probes to unveil intracellular processes, covering from intracellular microenvironment monitoring to tracing intracellular bioprocesses.

The production of quantum dots by microorganisms is regulated by both intracellular and extracellular factors. Gaining a better understanding of the regulatory mechanism will facilitate the precise modulation of their properties.

Carbon dots (CDs) are emerging nano-biomaterials owing to their exceptional optical and physico-chemical properties.

Calcium tungstate nanocrystals (CaWO₄ NCs) represent an important family of inorganic oxides and are well-known for their rare-earth (RE) sensitizing properties.

Schematic illustration of iridium(III) complex for ferroptosis-augmented sonodynamic therapy.

A cysteine-reactive, cyano-functionalized acenaphthopyrazine derivative is developed for cisplatin sensitization and side effect reduction by regulating the tumor microenvironment.

AIEgens with photothermal imaging ability, type-I ROS generation, and satisfactory biocompatibility are developed via precise molecular engineering aided by theoretical calculations and synthesized through simple procedures with cheap raw materials.

An external stimuli-responsive luminogen with smart switching of properties in the solid and solution states.

A hydroxyl-functionalized dye forms intermolecular hydrogen bonds, significantly enhancing the quantum yield by suppressing π–π stacking, and shows excellent multifunctional fluorescence imaging performance in vivo via various administration routes.

Photoinduced NO release and cytotoxicity of four nitrosyl Fe–S complexes modified with different thiolate bridging ligands and their ferritin complex adducts were investigated.

A versatile method for immobilizing multienzyme in nanoscale COFs through in situ assembly under ambient conditions is developed, with applications explored for improving cancer therapy, particularly when combined with MnO₂.

Eu³⁺-based conjugates with an Eu³⁺-sensitising ter-aryl amido–phenyl–picolinamide antenna exhibit superior two-photon absorption properties to those of the bi-aryl amido–phenyl–picolinamide antenna for improved microscopy of living cells.

The article reports a mitochondrial targeting AIEgens, TPE-PDT, demonstrating exceptional targeting accuracy, minimal cellular harm, and superior photostability under two-photon excitation, which enhances the effectiveness of photodynamic therapy.

We have developed a hydrophobic alkyl chain-modified PEG to functionalize NIR-II Ag₂S(Ag₂S-C₁₁-PEG) QDs, effectively suppressing energy transfer from the QDs to water and achieving a three-fold enhancement in photoluminescence intensity.

A cholic acid-modified ruthenium(II) (Ru1) photosensitizer was synthesized. Ru1 induced pyroptosis and sequentially engaged the downstream proteins p-TBK1 and p-IRF3 within the STING pathway, thus promoting the elicitation of tumor immune responses.

Iridium(III) 2-cyanobenzothiazole complexes were designed as N-terminal cysteine-specific labels to prepare peptide-based phosphorogenic probes and hydrogels for matrix metalloproteinase-2/9 sensing, cancer imaging and photocytotoxic applications.

This work constructed a versatile platform labeled as ZTBH using a post-ligand modification approach, thereby enabling two-photon fluorescence lifetime imaging-guided photodynamic therapy.

KP2749 is a new anticancer agent that releases two independent cytotoxic agents upon reduction: oxaliplatin and the fluorescent EGFR inhibitor KP2187.

Two organelle-targeted and hydrogen sulfide responsive type-I photodynamic therapy agents are developed for selective and effective treatment of hypoxic cancer cells.

Modern lifestyle changes, including irregular diets and late-night activities, have contributed to a significant rise in cancer rates, particularly among younger demographics, highlighting the pressing need for early detection and treatment.

Pure organic, easily processed, and flexible X-ray scintillating films based on TADF materials for high-resolution imaging with over 20 line pairs per mm.

Near-infrared (NIR) luminescence materials are ideal candidates for applications in three-dimensional biomedical imaging and night vision.

(WO + ICG)@PLGA@PL could not only achieve a synergistic therapy effect of gene delivery and photothermal effect but also effectively inhibit tumor growth.

This work presents a novel series of galectin inhibitors with ferrocene and ruthenium arene motifs. Diferrocene thiodigalactoside exhibited high binding affinity and selectivity for human galectin-1 over human galectin-3.

By increasing the charge of organic ligands to enhance the ionic bonds, a series of CuI-based hybrid structures with significantly improved stability are fabricated, showing potential as new solid-state lighting phosphors and X-ray scintillators.

Deformed organosilica nanoprobes (CDPF) exhibit enhanced accumulation within larger tumors, highlighting the pivotal role of the tumor microenvironment in the optimization of nanoparticle-based therapeutic strategies.

A schematic illustration of iodinated BODIPY based on chalcogen modification of the photophysical properties for near-infrared phototherapy of tumors.

The concentration of aggregates of a developed cellulose material in water could be regulated by light, resulting in a distinct fluorescence intensity change.

Supersensitive and fast X-ray imaging is of great importance in medical diagnosis, industrial flaw detection, security and safety inspection, and frontier science exploration.

(Yield of ROS)_TPO > (yield of ROS)_TPS > (yield of ROS)_TPP, (proportion of type I ROS)_TPO > (proportion of type I ROS)_TPS > (proportion of type I ROS)_TPP.

Herein, a highly sensitive detection platform for the dual-mode determination of sarcosine by fluorescence and colorimetry was constructed based on zirconium-based metal organic frameworks (Zr-MOFs) with multi-enzyme immobilization.

Luminescent platinum(II) complexes as a ternary optical switch for visualized determination were realized by modulating the monomeric, excimeric and ground-aggregated state via an assembly method.

A type of engineered carbon dots has been synthesized for tumor sonodynamic therapy, and the outstanding fluorescence properties enable them with broad potentials as imaging agents for fluorescence navigation surgery.

Tetrazine-derived chromones were developed as conditionally activated solvatochromic fluorescent probes and applied for LD and mitochondrial imaging.

The diketopyrrolopyrrole-based theranostic prodrug (DPP-QS) releases LD-targeted AIE PS (DPP-QE) and drug (chlorambucil) under the cleavage of esterase to achieve precise pyroptosis and chemo-photodynamic therapy of pancreatic cancer.

Mononuclear chiral lanthanide hexaazamacrocycles afford brilliant luminescence, strong CPL, high relaxivity and efficient MRI.

X-ray-activated LaGaO₃:Sb,Bi, engineered with a generic design utilizing intrinsic oxygen-defect perovskite as the host material, demonstrates robust UV persistent luminescence lasting over 2000 hours.

Persistent luminescence nanoparticles bonded with a hypochlorite-responsive near-infrared absorber A690 enable precise tumor boundary visualization during surgery, expanding clinical diagnostic applications.

Novel cyclometallated Ir^III complexes, exhibiting dual functionality as potent anticancer agents and photosensitisers, with selective efficacy against specific cancer cell lines.

Developing novel luminescent materials with multi-stimuli-responsiveness and multi-functional properties is vital.

Confinement laser dye into two novel adenine-containing metal-organic frameworks with the same components but different pore environments and topologies exhibited distinct adsorptive luminescence behaviours.

The Zn(II) complex could efficiently produce ˙O₂⁻ to damage lung cancer cells by photodynamic therapy. Simultaneously, the complex can cause cell damage by chemotherapy.

Intense UVC afterglow from a Sr₂P₂O₇:Pr³⁺ phosphor can effectively inactivate infectious methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which offers new insights into developing deep-UV-light sources for sterilization applications.

A lanthanide modified squaramide-based anionic hydrogen-bonded organic framework could be used as a sensitive sensor for rapid detection of DCN pesticide residues in fresh produce nondestructively.

Two similar ligands (tpemc and tpedc) with few coordination sites were used to design and construct a series of Eu-complexes with three different dimensions in this work. Complexes 1–3 showed an incremental AIE phenomenon.

Versatile synthesis for all rare earth oxysulfides (RE₂O₂S) and evaluation of the potential of ultrasmall Gd_0.8Nd_1.2O₂S as a multimodal contrast agent.

The developed dual-emissive persistent luminescent phosphors exhibit unique luminescence properties and have been designed for multi-responsive anti-counterfeiting and ratiometric luminescent aptasensors.

Schematic illustration of the amphiphilic BODIPY-based photosensitizers for multimodal imaging-guided phototherapy through J-aggregation.

This work demonstrated that the aggregation and de-aggregation strategy of AIEgens in nanomicelles is very attractive for constructing multifunctional theranostic probes.

Rare earth complexes for studying interactions between lipid droplets and mitochondria: monitoring changes in LDs and mitochondria using Eu(TTA)₃-L3 under two-photon conditions.

An AIE-active supramolecular photosensitizer with excellent switchable ROS-generation ability is successfully fabricated in an aqueous environment based on a two-step sequential FRET process.

The 3,4-ethylenedithio thiophene donor is used to construct S–D–A–D–S NIR-II nanofluorophores, which can exhibit an improved fluorescent quantum yield and enhanced brightness for in vivo imaging of mouse cerebral vessels.

We have synthesized Eu-doped NaBi(MoO₄)₂ nanoparticles functionalized with PAA whose properties make them excellent multimodal contrast agents for X-ray computed tomography and luminescent bioimaging, as illustrated using a C. Elegans animal model.

An unreported HOF containing imidazole groups was prepared, providing a dual-functional platform for the detection of the anticancer drug methotrexate in serum and for multi-level information encryption.

Oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylates functionalized with anthrapyrazolone are reported as fluorescent polymeric thermometers with a broad linear temperature sensing regime.

Doping Li⁺/Ga³⁺ in ZnGa₂O₄:Cr³⁺ splits the energy level of electron traps into shallow traps and deep traps, which makes the developed phosphors be successfully excited by a low-energy NIR light and suitable for long-term biological imaging.

We revealed the molecular origin of low quantum yields in the closed-form rhodamines and proposed a design method to enhance their emissions. Such dual-emission rhodamine analogs have potential applications in advanced bioimaging and biosensing.

Surface engineering of highly luminescent AuAg nanoclusters via triphenylphosphine conjugation enables targeted mitochondrial and in vivo brain imaging.

Tb-DBA can not only serve as a light-operated dual-mechanism driven platform to detect VMA (an early pathological feature of neuroblastoma), but can also produce a different fluorescence response to epinephrine (EP, the metabolic precursor of VMA).

Through multiscale modeling, it is predicted that TSSSSI is a potential candidate for NIR-II FLI-guided PDT–PTT therapy.