He, Xuewen, Xiong, Ling-Hong, Huang, Yalan, Zhao, Zheng, Wang, Zaiyu, Lam, Jacky Wing Yip, Kwok, Ryan Tsz Kin, and Tang, Ben Zhong
With the rapid development of optical tools, biosensing and imaging have deepened to analyze the molecule-level substrates in living systems. As a molecular-ruler, Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based analytical methods could sensitively response to the tiny fluctuation of biomolecules and events with ultrahigh spatiotemporal resolution in living cells, tissues and animals. Luminogens with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics and their derived nanostructures display unique photophysical properties, including tunable emission wavelength, robust brightness, broad absorption, large Stokes shift, excellent photostability, flexible molecular design and versatile nanostructural fabrication, etc., and have been widely applied in building FRET probes for bioanalytes sensing, imaging and drug delivery monitoring with high sensitivity and specificity. In addition, AIE-based energy transfer systems exhibit unique advantages in photodynamic therapy, holding great potential in analytical research and biomedical applications. • IE materials with large Stokes shift and strong photobleaching resistance show great potential in FRET construction. • Flexible and diversified structures enable AIE FRET systems to be widely applied in bioimaging and process tracking. • The strategies included non-conjugate/through-bond linked, nanoencapsulation, host-guest, chemiluminescence, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]