Chemical Research in Chinese Universities ›› 2021, Vol. 37 ›› Issue (1): 52-65.doi: 10.1007/s40242-021-0430-1

• Reviews • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Recent Advances of AIEgens for Targeted Imaging of Subcellular Organelles

SONG Nan1,2, XIAO Peihong1,2, MA Ke1,2, KANG Miaomiao1,2, ZHU Wei1,2, HUANG Jiachang1,2, WANG Dong1, TANG Ben Zhong3   

  1. 1. Center for AIE Research, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Polymer Science and Technology, Guangdong Research Center for Interfacial Engineering of Functional Materials, College of Material Science and Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, P. R. China;
    2. College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, P. R. China;
    3. Department of Chemistry, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, P. R. China
  • Received:2020-12-19 Revised:2021-01-04 Online:2021-02-01 Published:2021-01-07
  • Contact: WANG Dong, TANG Ben Zhong E-mail:wangd@szu.edu.cn;tangbenz@ust.hk
  • Supported by:
    This work was supported by the Developmental Fund for Science and Technology of Shenzhen, China(Nos.JCYJ20190808153415062, JCYJ2019080812141-7291), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(No.2020M672791), the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.21801169, 52003164), and the Natural Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars of Guangdong Province, China(No.2020B1515020011).

Abstract: Fluorescence imaging based on luminogens with aggregation-induced emission(AIE) effect has drawn great attention in recent two decades, due to their superior advantages to overcome the technical difficulties. Thus, the AIE-active bioprobes with targeted ability at the subcellular level have been widely investigated to visualize the subcellular structures and monitor the biological processes. Considering the very rapid developments and the significance of selective imaging of subcellular structures, we summarize the recent two-year achievements about the AIEgens for targeted imaging of subcellular organelles including nuclei, membranes, lipid droplets(LDs), endoplasmic reticulum(ER), lysosomes, mitochondria and cytoplasm. The designed protocols and advantages of AIEgens, their mechanisms for targeted staining at organelles and the imaging performance are discussed. These AIE bioprobes exhibit great potentials for early diagnosis and therapeutics of diseases that related to subcellular organelles. Finally, the perspectives about AIEgens for these applications are also discussed.

Key words: Aggregation-induced emission, Monitoring bioprocess, Subcellular organelles, Targeted ability, Theranostics