Aggregation-induced emission luminogens for intracellular bacteria imaging and elimination

Intracellular bacterial infections are a serious threat to human health due to their ability to escape immunity and develop drug resistance. Recent attention has been devoted to identifying and ablating intracellular bacteria with fluorescence probes. Aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIEgens) photosensitizers as fluorescence probes possess excellent photostability and rapid response, which have emerged as powerful fluorescent tools for intracellular bacterial detection and antibacterial therapy. This review is intended to highlight the current advances in AIEgens on intracellular bacteria imaging and elimination, which covers topics from intracellular AIE mechanism, intracellular bacteria imaging of AIEgens to the elimination of intracellular bacteria with AIEgens. AIEgens utilized different interactions to detect intracellular bacteria, emitting bright light due to restricted intramolecular movement to visualize intracellular bacteria. Photosensitive AIEgens generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the aggregate state to elimate intracellular bacteria. Moreover, the prospects and application of AIEgens in intracellular bacteria imaging and elimination are also discussed, which provides insights for the development of AIE-based diagnostic and therapeutic materials and technologies.