AIE conjugated polymers for fluorescence imaging and photodynamic therapy.

Accurate diagnosis and treatment have been extensively developed in the field of biomedicine, which puts forward higher requirements for the development of biomedical materials with high efficiency and selectivity. Among them, aggregation-induced emission (AIE) conjugated polymers have stood out in recent years owing to their unique properties, such as intense solid emission, high light-harvesting ability, efficient energy transfer, and high 1 O 2 generation ability, which empower them effectively biomedical functions in fluorescence imaging (FL), photodynamic therapy (PDT), FL guided PDT, two-photon excited photodynamic therapy (2PE-PDT), etc . In this review, we highlight recent progress in AIE conjugated polymers and their applications in anticancer and antibacterial areas based on FL and PDT, and summarize the mechanism of color-tuned fluorescent emission and efficient 1 O 2 generation ability compared with small molecular photosensitizer. Last but not least, the challenges and perspectives for the future development of AIE conjugated polymers are discussed.