Recent advances in super-resolution optical imaging based on aggregation-induced emission

Feng-Yu Zhu, Li-Jun Mei, Rui Tian, Chong Li, Ya-Long Wang, Shi-Li Xiang, Ming-Qiang Zhu and Ben Zhong Tang

Chem. Soc. Rev., 2024, 53, 3350
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An ultrasensitive lipid droplet-targeted NIR emission fluorescent probe for polarity detection and its application in liver disease diagnosis

Yonghe Tang, Sirui Song, Juanjuan Peng, Qian Zhang and Weiying Lin

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2022, 10, 6974
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meso-Substituted BODIPY rotors as lipid droplet probes for cell-type differentiation

Charutha Kalarikkal, Anjali, Koyeli Mapa and Chinna Ayya Swamy P

New J. Chem., 2025
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Design, Synthesis and Application of Trisubstituted Olefinic Aggregation-Induced Emission Molecules

Zhaohua Chen, Xiying Cao, Sihong Chen, Shiwei Yu, Yanlan Lin, Shuting Lin and Zhaoyang Wang

Chinese Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2022, 42, 2355
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A Novel Fluorogenic Probe Reveals Lipid Droplet Dynamics in ME/CFS Fibroblasts

Siyang Ding, Oana Sanislav, Daniel Missailidis, Claire Yvonne Allan, Tze Cin Owyong, Ming‐Yu Wu, Sijie Chen, Paul Robert Fisher, Sarah Jane Annesley and Yuning Hong

Advanced Sensor Research, 2024, 3
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Carbonized Polymer Dot Probe for Two-Photon Fluorescence Imaging of Lipid Droplets in Living Cells and Tissues

Zepeng Huo, Xiumian Cao, Dong Sun, Weiqing Xu, Bai Yang and Shuping Xu

ACS Sens., 2023, 8, 1939
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Polarity-Sensitive Probe: Dual-Channel Visualization of the “Chameleon” Migration with the Assistance of Reactive Oxygen Species

Shengnan Wang, Minghua Zhou, Lei Chen, Mengjuan Ren, Yingcui Bu, Junjun Wang, Zhi-Peng Yu, Xiaojiao Zhu, Jie Zhang, Lianke Wang and Hongping Zhou

ACS Appl. Bio Mater., 2022, 5, 3554
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Fluorescent probes - illuminate the interplay network between lipid droplets and other organelles

Jialu Yang, Juan Ning, Pengju Sun, Yamin Nie, Yonghong Li, Meixia Guo and Yanmei Zhou

Coordination Chemistry Reviews, 2024, 510, 215792
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Synthesis and application of visual AIE fluorescent probe for lipid droplets in vivo

Lei Wu, Bin Li, Yan Deng, Jieyu Zhou, Guangyao Shi, Yiheng Li, Xiaoqing Wang, Shaoping Wu, Yongmin Zhang and Jianli Li

Dyes and Pigments, 2023, 209, 110946
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A novel fluorescent probe with ACQ-AIE conversion by alkyl chain engineering for simultaneous visualization of lipid droplets and lysosomes

Chen Han, Shao-Bin Sun, Xun Ji and Jian-Yong Wang

Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, 2023, 285, 121884
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Immunomodulating platelet-mimicking nanoparticles for AIE-based enhanced photodynamic immunotherapy against lung cancer

Yuan Zhang, Zhiji Wang, Jia Wang, Ya Lin, Huimin Gao, Pengpeng Wang, Shuangfei Zhu, Huae Xu and Xiaolin Li

Materials Today Bio, 2025, 32, 101683
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Fluorescent Benzothiadiazole Derivatives as Fluorescence Imaging Dyes: A Decade of New Generation Probes

Brenno A. D. Neto, Jose R. Correa and John Spencer

Chemistry A European J, 2022, 28
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Twisted Molecular Core Conjugated Oxo-Ether as a Fluorescent Probe for Lipid-Droplets Bioimaging and Live Cancer Cell Discrimination

Shouvik Bhuin, Purbali Chakraborty, Perumal Yogeeswari and Manab Chakravarty

ACS Appl. Bio Mater., 2025, 8, 2985
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Clog P‐Guided Development of Multi‐Colored Buffering Fluorescent Probes for Super‐Resolution Imaging of Lipid Droplet Dynamics

Jie Chen, Qinglong Qiao, Hanlixin Wang, Wenchao Jiang, Wenjuan Liu, Kai An and Zhaochao Xu

Advanced Science, 2024, 11
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Multicolor Microscopic In Vivo Imaging of the Formation and Disappearance of Lipid Droplets Using BODIPY-Based Red and Deep-Red Fluorescent Probes

Mayuko Shimanuki, Risa Uda, Shuichi Shiozaki and Toshitada Yoshihara

ACS Appl. Bio Mater., 2025, 8, 6193
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A Novel Fluorescent Probe with Acq-Aie Conversion Affected by Alkylation of 4-Aminonaphthalimide for Simultaneous Visualization of Lipid Droplets and Lysosomes

Jian-Yong Wang, Chen Han, Shao-Bin Sun, Jianbo Qu and Haitao Zhang

SSRN Journal, 2022
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Recent advances in chiral aggregation-induced emission fluorogens

Rui Hu, Yuncong Yuan, Meijia Gu and You-Quan Zou

Engineered Regeneration, 2022, 3, 323
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Near‐infrared aggregation‐induced emission materials: Bibliometric analysis and their application in biomedical field

Qian He, Meiyiming Wang, Li Zhao, Bin Xu, Wenjing Tian and Liyun Zhang

Aggregate, 2024, 5
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Fluorescent Nanocable as a Biomedical Tool: Intracellular Self-Assembly Formed by a Natural Product Interconnects and Synchronizes Mitochondria

Xueqian Zhao, Fei Wang, Chuen Kam, Ming-Yu Wu, Jianyu Zhang, Changhuo Xu, Kai Bao, Qiyuan He, Ruquan Ye, Ben Zhong Tang and Sijie Chen

ACS Nano, 2024, 18, 21447
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Seeing the unseen: AIE luminogens for super-resolution imaging

Zhi Wang, Yu Zhou, Ruohan Xu, Yanzi Xu, Dongfeng Dang, Qifei Shen, Lingjie Meng and Ben Zhong Tang

Coordination Chemistry Reviews, 2022, 451, 214279
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Cancer cell-selective aggregation-induced emission probe for long-term plasma membrane imaging

Ming-Yu Wu, Jong-Kai Leung, Chuen Kam, Bo Situ, Zhao-Ju Wu, Tsu Yu Chou, Shun Feng and Sijie Chen

Cell Reports Physical Science, 2022, 3, 100735
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Dynamic Imaging of Lipid Droplets in Cells and Tissues by Using Dioxaborine Barbiturate-Based Fluorogenic Probes

Eun-Ji Kim, Hye-Bin Jeon, Min-Ji Kang and Jiyoun Lee

Anal. Chem., 2024, 96, 8356
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Molecular engineering to construct thieno[3,2-c]pyridinium based photosensitizers for mitochondrial polarity imaging and photodynamic anticancer therapy

Ming-Yu Wu, Li-Juan Wang, Chong-Min Qin, Yun Wang, Jia-Xing Song, Yu Zhao, Yu Wan and Shun Feng

Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 2023, 381, 133471
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A deep-red emission AIE fluorescent probes based on coumarin for imaging lipid droplets in living cells

Jing Yang, Zhiyu Wang, Jiayi Ge, Yi Deng, Feiyang Ding, Lei Hu and Hui Wang

Journal of Molecular Structure, 2023, 1277, 134847
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Engineered Strategies for Lipid Droplets-Targeted AIEgens Based on Tetraphenylethene

Fei Zhang, Yao Zhang, Zhuoxia Li, Xiaoxiao Wu, Dong Wang, Youling He, Hong Cheng, Baolei Fan, Dan Zhu, Min Li and Ben Zhong Tang

Molecules, 2024, 29, 5904
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Fluorescent Imaging and Sorting of High-Lipid-Content Strains of Green Algae by Using an Aggregation-Induced Emission Luminogen

Haixiang Liu, Neng Yan, Tin Yan Wong, Henry Lam, Jacky W. Y. Lam, Ryan T. K. Kwok, Jianwei Sun and Ben Zhong Tang

ACS Nano, 2022, 16, 14973
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Photoactivable AIEgen-based Lipid-Droplet-Specific Drug Delivery Model for Live Cell Imaging and Two-Photon Light-Triggered Anticancer Drug Delivery

Amit Kumar Singh, Rakesh Mengji, Asha V Nair, Sk. Sheriff Shah, Jana Avijit and N. D. Pradeep Singh

ACS Appl. Bio Mater., 2023, 6, 4372
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Highly Efficient Photodynamic Therapy with Mitochondria‐Targeting Aggregation‐Induced Emission Photosensitizer for Retinoblastoma

Lingbo Zhou, Luojia Chen, Sijie Chen, Zeyuan Pu, Meijia Gu and Yin Shen

Adv Healthcare Materials, 2023, 12
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Facile Transformation from Rofecoxib to a New Near-Infrared Lipid Droplet Fluorescent Probe and Its Investigations on AIE Property, Solvatochromism and Mechanochromism

Yongbo Wei, Wei Liu, Zexin Wang, Nannan Chen, Jingming Zhou, Tong Wu, Yuqiu Ye, Yanbing Ke, Hong Jiang, Xin Zhai and Lijun Xie

Molecules, 2023, 28, 1814
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Lipophilic AIEgens as the “Trojan Horse” with Discrepant Efficacy in Tracking and Treatment of Mycobacterial Infection

Chunzi Shi, Xueni Huang, Dong Wang, Chengshengze Chu, Yuxin Shi, Bo Yan, Fei Shan, Jiulong Zhang, Zhiyong Zhang, Chen Peng and Ben Zhong Tang

Adv Healthcare Materials, 2024, 13
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An advanced organic molecular probe for multimodal fluorescence imaging of cellular lipid droplets

Ri Zhou, Guannan Liu, Di Li, Tianshuang Wang, Xu Yan, Fangmeng Liu, Peng Sun, Chenguang Wang and Geyu Lu

Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 2023, 387, 133772
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Structure Rigidification Promoted Ultrabright Solvatochromic Fluorescent Probes for Super-Resolution Imaging of Cytosolic and Nuclear Lipid Droplets

Mingyue Cao, Ting Zhu, Mengying Zhao, Fanda Meng, Zhiqiang Liu, Jianguo Wang, Guangle Niu and Xiaoqiang Yu

Anal. Chem., 2022, 94, 10676
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A Holistic Perspective on Living Aggregate

Wei He, Ryan Tsz Kin Kwok, Zijie Qiu, Zheng Zhao and Ben Zhong Tang

J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2024, 146, 5030
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Recent advance of lipid droplets fluorescence imaging with aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIEgens)

Lingyun Wang, Xiaoli Chen, Xueguang Ran, Hao Tang and Derong Cao

Dyes and Pigments, 2022, 203, 110332
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Research Progress of Aggregation-Caused Quenching (ACQ) to Aggregation-Induced Emission (AIE) Transformation Based on Organic Small Molecules

Sihong Chen, Jiamin Xu, Yuemei Li, Baoru Peng, Lingyu Luo, Huiye Feng, Zhaohua Chen and Zhaoyang Wang

Chinese Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2022, 42, 1651
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Solvatochromic Two-Photon Fluorescent Probe Enables In Situ Lipid Droplet Multidynamics Tracking for Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver and Inflammation Diagnoses

Houshi Huang, Yingcui Bu, Zhi-Peng Yu, Mengtao Rong, Rui Li, Zhijie Wang, Jie Zhang, Xiaojiao Zhu, Lianke Wang and Hongping Zhou

Anal. Chem., 2022, 94, 13396
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Multimodal phototherapy agents target lipid droplets for near-infrared imaging-guided type I photodynamic/photothermal therapy

Xianjiao Tang, Liping Chen, Yuhan Wang, Pengwei Chen, Lin-Song Li, Xiaojing Yang and Mei-Xia Zhao

Acta Biomaterialia, 2024, 180, 394
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Rational design of AIE-based carbazole derivatives for lipid droplet-specific imaging in living cells

Hui Wang, Xuebin Shen, Jiayi Ge, Yi Deng, Feiyang Ding, Zhiyu Wang, Wenya Zhu, Lei Hu, Jing He and Xiaoxia Gu

Chem. Pap., 2023, 77, 563
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Aggregation-induced emission luminogens for super-resolution imaging

Yunfei Zuo, Ryan T. K. Kwok, Jianwei Sun, Jacky W. Y. Lam and Ben Zhong Tang

Chemical Physics Reviews, 2024, 5
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Lipid droplets imaging with three-photon microscopy

Mubin He, Hojeong Park, Guangle Niu, Qiming Xia, Hequn Zhang, Ben Zhong Tang and Jun Qian

J. Innov. Opt. Health Sci., 2023, 16
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Trident anchoring-lipid droplets strategy for fluorescence/super-resolution/lifetime imaging and diagnosis of fatty liver in vivo

Xu Zhi, Fangjian Cai, Xiang Ming Yi, Lei Zhang, Aiping Wang and Zhen Shen

Chemical Engineering Journal, 2024, 490, 151810
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Recent advances of lipid droplet-targeted AIE-active materials for imaging, diagnosis and therapy

Sisi Yuan and Engui Zhao

Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 2025, 267, 116802
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Effect of luminescent materials on the biochemistry, ultrastructure, and rhizobial microbiota of Spirodela polyrhiza

Qi Li, Yiyang Lan, Yixia Yang, Shiyun Kang, Xin Wang, Jiarui Jiang, Shengyue Liu, Qianchao Wang, Weizhen Zhang and Liping Zhang

Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 2024, 207, 108427
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A Near-Infrared Probe for Specific Imaging of Lipid Droplets in Living Cells

Xue Wu, Xiaoxiu Wang, Ying Li, Fanpeng Kong, Kehua Xu, Lu Li and Bo Tang

Anal. Chem., 2022, 94, 4881
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Lipid droplet-targeting optical biosensors: Design strategies and applications

Yong-Xi Zhou, Shun-Yu Wu, Xinping Zhang and Fu-Gen Wu

TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 2024, 175, 117703
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Adipocyte-Targeting Type I AIE Photosensitizer for Obesity Treatment via Photodynamic Lipid Peroxidation

Michelle M. S. Lee, Dan Min Lin, Joe H. C. Chau, Eric Y. Yu, Dan Ding, Ryan T. K. Kwok, Dong Wang and Ben Zhong Tang

ACS Nano, 2023, 17, 11039
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Emerging designs of aggregation-induced emission luminogens for lipid droplets imaging

Fei Zhang, Xiaoxiao Wu, Bin Liu, Ting Han, Dingyuan Yan, Dong Wang and Ben Zhong Tang

Coordination Chemistry Reviews, 2023, 493, 215337
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Constructing D-π-A-π dye to obtain red-emission fluorescent probe for structured illumination microscopy imaging of lipid droplet dynamics

Wenchao Jiang, Jie Chen, Kai An, Pengjun Bao, Qinglong Qiao, Xiaogang Liu and Zhaochao Xu

Green Chemical Engineering, 2023, 4, 387
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Solvatochromic Near-Infrared Aggregation-Induced Emission-Active Acrylonitriles by Acceptor Modulation for Low-Power Stimulated Emission Depletion Nanoscopy

Shixian Cao, Xiaoyuan Tian, Mingyue Cao, Jianguo Wang, Guangle Niu and Ben Zhong Tang

Chem. Mater., 2023, 35, 2472
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Development and application of near-infrared fluorescent probes for lipid droplet imaging in disease detection

Wei Shi, Shiyin Feng, Zhuo Chen, Qin Yu and Hongbao Sun

Dyes and Pigments, 2026, 244, 113108
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Versatile organic fluorescent probes for visualizing the dynamics of lipid droplets

Mingyue Cao, Yunting Liu, Caihong Xiang, Guangzhen Zheng, Qingping Xiong and Guangle Niu

Coordination Chemistry Reviews, 2025, 522, 216181
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A highly sensitive turn-on fluorescent sensor for hydrazine based on conjugated D-π-A molecule

Zhu Wen, Yanli Leng, Qiao Li, Xiaohua Cai, Xiaohong Li, Yupeng Zhang and Jianhui Zhang

Tetrahedron Letters, 2023, 117, 154371
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