A Highly Efficient Aggregation-induced Emission Photosensitizer for Photodynamic Combat of Multidrug-resistant Bacteria

With the antibiotic abuse and the resulting increased antibiotic resistance, the bacterial infection has posed a serious threat to human health. Photodynamic therapy is an effective tool for treating localized and superficial infections. It is a promising approach for the treatment of superbugs and with minimal risk of induced antibiotic resistance. Herein, an isoquinolinium-based photosensitizer, LIQ-TPE, with aggregation-induced emission properties is designed and synthesized. It is with high 1O2 generation efficiency and shows efficient antibacterial performance towards both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, and even methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA). LIQ-TPE thus shows great promise as an effective antimicrobial agent to combat the menace of multi-drug resistant bacteria.