The Midas Touch by Iridium: A Second Near-Infrared Aggregation-Induced Emission-Active Metallo-Agent for Exceptional Phototheranostics of Breast Cancer

Developing small organic molecular phototheranostic agents with second near-infrared (NIR-II) aggregation-induced emission (AIE) is paramount for the phototriggered diagnostic imaging and synchronous in situ therapy of cancer via an excellent balance of the excited states energy dissipations. In this study, a multifunctional iridium(III) complex is exploited by the coordination of an AIE-active N^N ancillary ligand with a trivalent iridium ion. The resultant complex DPTPzIr significantly outperforms its parent ligand in terms of absorption/emission wavelengths, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and photothermal conversion, which simultaneously endow DPTPzIr nanoparticles with matched absorption peak to…

• SA
  Science and Technology Foundation of Shenzhen City

  Award: 20220809130438001
• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Awards: 52122317, 22175120
• GP
  Guangdong Provincial Pearl River Talents Program

  Award: 2019QN01Y103