Molecular Engineering of NIR AIE Probes for Cell Membrane-Targeted Cancer Phototheranostics

Abstract

A finely engineered NIR AIE probe, namely TTTVPHE, was synthesized with dithieno[2,3-b:2',3'-d]thiophene to bridge triphenylamine and pyridinium units for cell membrane-targeted cancer phototheranostics. TTTVPHE has significant advantages such as strong cell membrane binding affinity, NIR-I/II emission, superior AIE characteristics, and excellent type I/II ROS generation ability.