NIR-II Aggregation-Induced Emission for PDT-PTT Dual-Mode Synergistic Therapy

Due to the excellent optical properties, good biocompatibility, high reactive oxygen species yield and excellent photothermal conversion ability, aggregation-induced emission ( AIE) materials show great potential applications in the fields of photodynamic and photothermal therapy. However, traditional fluorescent materials need light with short wavelength for emission, which has the problem of poor tissue penetration, and further restricts the clinical application. To overcome the problem, AIE materials with emission in the range of second near-infrared (NIR-II) emission are employed, which promotes the feasibility of the clinical application. This review summarizes the application of NIR-II AIEgens with donor-pi-acceptor ( D-pi-A ) and donor-acceptor donor (D-A-D) structure in photodynamic-photothermal dual-mode synergistic therapy.