The synthesis of water-soluble near-infrared (NIR)-emissive fluorescent molecules with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics and theranostic functions is highly desirable but remains challenging. In this work, we designed and readily prepared for the first time such a molecule with AIE features, good water-solubility and intense emission in the NIR region. This AIE luminogen (AIEgen) is able to specifically “light up” the cell membrane without the involvement of a washing procedure. Interestingly, the staining process can be performed by simply shaking the culture with cells at room temperature for only a few seconds after the addition of the AIEgen, indicating an ultrafast and easy-to-operate staining protocol. This is the first fluorescent “light-up” probe for cell-imaging that allows the combination of a short staining period (at the second-level) with a wash-free process. Additionally, the presented AIEgen has also been developed to serve as an excellent phototherapeutic agent for high efficiency generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) upon visible light irradiation, which allows its effective application in the photodynamic ablation of cancer cells, demonstrating its dual role as an imaging and phototherapeutic agent.

中文翻译：

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水溶性近红外AIEgen的合理设计及其在超快免洗细胞成像和光动力癌细胞消融中的应用†

具有聚集诱导发射（AIE）特性和治疗诊断功能的水溶性近红外（NIR）发射荧光分子的合成是非常理想的，但仍然具有挑战性。在这项工作中，我们首次设计并轻松制备了这种具有AIE特征、良好的水溶性和在近红外区域强烈发射的分子。这种 AIE 发光剂 (AIEgen) 能够特异性“点亮”细胞膜，无需清洗程序。有趣的是，在添加 AIEgen 后，只需在室温下摇动含有细胞的培养物几秒钟即可完成染色过程，这表明这是一种超快速且易于操作的染色方案。这是第一个用于细胞成像的荧光“发光”探针，可将短染色时间（二级）与免洗过程相结合。此外，所提出的 AIEgen 还被开发为一种优秀的光治疗剂，可在可见光照射下高效产生活性氧（ROS），这使其能够有效应用于癌细胞的光动力消融，证明了其双重作用成像和光治疗剂。