Molecular Strategies for Constructing Epoxy‐Type Afterglow Probes in Disease Diagnosis and Treatment

Abstract Epoxy‐type afterglow luminescence is a cascade reaction of photochemical defects caused as a result of the formation and release of epoxy intermediates, exhibiting a continuous luminescence phenomenon that remains intrinsic after excitation, with extremely impressive signal‐to‐background ratio (SBR) level in vivo. Afterglow luminescence based on this epoxy‐type mechanism is ideally suited for applications and developments in the diagnosis and treatment of biological diseases. In this tutorial review, this work aims to deeply elaborate the mechanisms of the epoxy‐type afterglow materials and present the application of epoxy‐type afterglow imaging for the diagnosis and treatment of biological diseases. Lastly, future perspectives and potential challenges of epoxy‐type afterglow imaging technology for preclinical diagnostic, therapeutic, and predictive analyses, as well as for clinical translations are discussed.