ESIPT-, AIE-, and AIE + ESIPT-Based Light-Activated Drug Delivery Systems and Bioactive Donors for Targeted Disease Treatment

Targeted release of bioactive molecules for therapeutic purposes is a key area in the biomedical field that is growing quickly, where bioactive molecules are released passively or actively from drug delivery systems (DDSs) or bioactive donors. In the past decade, researchers have identified light as one of the prime stimuli that can implement the efficient spatiotemporally targeted delivery of drugs or gaseous molecules with minimal cytotoxicity and a real-time monitoring ability. This perspective emphasizes recent advances in the photophysical properties of ESIPT- (excited-state intramolecular proton transfer), AIE- (aggregation-induced emission), and AIE + ESIPT-attributed light-activated delivery systems or donors. The three major sections of this perspective describe the distinctive features of DDSs and donors concerning their design, synthesis, photophysical and photochemical properties, and in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrating their relevance as carrier molecules for releasing cancer drugs and gaseous molecules in the biological system.