Triphenylamine-AIEgens photoactive materials for cancer theranostics

Triphenylamine (TPA)-based aggregation-induced emission luminogens (TPA-AIEgens), a type of photoactive material utilizing the typical TPA moiety, has recently attracted increasing attention for the diagnostics and treatment of tumors due to their remarkable chemo-physical performance in optoelectronic research. TPA-AIEgens are distinguished from other photoactive agents by their strong fluorescence, good sensitivity, high signal-to-noise ratio, resistance to photobleaching, and lack of high concentration or aggregation-caused fluoresce quenching effects. In this review, we summarize the current advancements and the biomedical progress of TPA-AIEgens in tumor theranostics. First, the design principles of TPA-AIEgens photoactive agents as well as the advanced targeting strategies for nuclei, cell membranes, cell organelle and tumors were introduced, respectively. Next, the applications of TPA-AIEgens in tumor diagnosis and therapeutic techniques were reviewed. Last, the challenges and prospects of TPA-AIEgens for cancer therapy were performed. The given landscape of the TPA-AIEgens hereby is meaningful for the further design and utilization of the novel photoactive material, which could be beneficial for the development of clinic applications.