Organic dye assemblies with aggregation-induced photophysical changes and their bio-applications

Phototheranostics provide a safe, effective, and noninvasive way for the diagnosis and treatment of contemporary diseases, and organic dyes play a vital role. For example, chemical modification endowed dyes with powerful reactive oxygen species or heat generation ability, favoring for photodynamic therapy and photoacoustic (PA) imaging guided photothermal therapy (PTT) of serious diseases. Therefore, photophysical properties manipulation of dyes has become the focus in current dye chemistry research. The development of aggregate science has made great effort to solve this problem. In recent years, a large number of studies have focused on molecular aggregation behavior and its effect on photophysical performance. The most famous example is the discovery of aggregation-induced emission (AIE) phenomenon. Based on AIE theory, more theories for revealing the relationship between molecular aggregation behavior and photophysical properties were proposed and elucidated. The photophysical property changes caused by dye aggregation have become a unique discipline, guiding the development of molecular science and material science. With the help of molecular self-assembly, controllable aggregation of dyes can be realized, and stable nano-theranostic reagents can be obtained. Furthermore, constructing dye assemblies with various photophysical properties will greatly reduce the cost of theranostic reagents, thus, expanding biomedical applications of organic dyes. Therefore, this review focuses on the photophysical characteristic changes caused by dye aggregation and their biological applications including, fluorescence/phosphorescence/PA imaging as well as photodynamic and PTT. This review will provide guidance for the design of organic dyes, the development of controllable aggregation methods, and the construction of multifunctional phototheranostic reagents.