Tuning Photophysical Conflict Into Synergy: Stereoelectronic Planarity Disruption Unlocks Concurrent Aggregation‐Enhanced ROS and NIR‐II Fluorescence

The development of near-infrared-II (NIR-II) fluorescent photosensitizers is fundamentally limited by a photophysical trade-off: aggregation-caused quenching that typically suppresses both reactive oxygen species (ROS) and fluorescence. Herein, we introduce a paradigm-shifting strategy-stereoelectronic planarity disruption of molecular planarity-to transform this detrimental trade-off into a synergistic, aggregation-enhanced process. By integrating sterically demanding and electronically communicative peripheries into an acceptor-donor-acceptor-donor-acceptor (A-DA'D-A) scaffold, we designed small molecules (AS4T and AS4Se) that exhibit concurrent aggregation-enhanced ROS and fluorescence efficiencies. This unique design, verified by theoretical and structural analyses, alleviates detrimental π-π interactions to simultaneously promote intersystem crossing and radiative decay in the aggregate state. The derived nanoparticles (NPs), particularly AS4T NPs, achieve a record-high <sup>1</sup>O<sub>2</sub> quantum yield (24.7%), robust O<sub>2</sub> <sup>•-</sup> production, and 6.3-fold higher NIR-II brightness than ICG/FBS. Under low-power 808 nm laser irradiation, AS4T NPs enable high-contrast tumor imaging and complete tumor elimination through photodynamic therapy alone, even for deep-seated tumors. This work establishes a new design paradigm that unifies aggregation-enhanced ROS and fluorescence efficiency in NIR-II fluorescent photosensitizers, offering a transformative approach to highly efficient tumor phototheranostics.

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Small
Published
2026-03-12
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202514912
Primary Topic
Nanoplatforms for cancer theranostics
Type
article
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article

Tuning Photophysical Conflict Into Synergy: Stereoelectronic Planarity Disruption Unlocks Concurrent Aggregation‐Enhanced ROS and NIR‐II Fluorescence

Jiangwei Cui, Li Wang, Hao Chen, Jie Liu et al.
Small
Nanoplatforms for cancer theranostics
article

Tuning Photophysical Conflict Into Synergy: Stereoelectronic Planarity Disruption Unlocks Concurrent Aggregation‐Enhanced ROS and NIR‐II Fluorescence

Jiangwei Cui, Li Wang, Hao Chen, Jie Liu, Da Ma, Ye Qin, Mengjie Zhang, Xunwen Zhang, W. D. Li
article en

Abstract

The development of near-infrared-II (NIR-II) fluorescent photosensitizers is fundamentally limited by a photophysical trade-off: aggregation-caused quenching that typically suppresses both reactive oxygen species (ROS) and fluorescence. Herein, we introduce a paradigm-shifting strategy-stereoelectronic planarity disruption of molecular planarity-to transform this detrimental trade-off into a synergistic, aggregation-enhanced process. By integrating sterically demanding and electronically communicative peripheries into an acceptor-donor-acceptor-donor-acceptor (A-DA'D-A) scaffold, we designed small molecules (AS4T and AS4Se) that exhibit concurrent aggregation-enhanced ROS and fluorescence efficiencies. This unique design, verified by theoretical and structural analyses, alleviates detrimental π-π interactions to simultaneously promote intersystem crossing and radiative decay in the aggregate state. The derived nanoparticles (NPs), particularly AS4T NPs, achieve a record-high <sup>1</sup>O<sub>2</sub> quantum yield (24.7%), robust O<sub>2</sub> <sup>•-</sup> production, and 6.3-fold higher NIR-II brightness than ICG/FBS. Under low-power 808 nm laser irradiation, AS4T NPs enable high-contrast tumor imaging and complete tumor elimination through photodynamic therapy alone, even for deep-seated tumors. This work establishes a new design paradigm that unifies aggregation-enhanced ROS and fluorescence efficiency in NIR-II fluorescent photosensitizers, offering a transformative approach to highly efficient tumor phototheranostics.

Small
Nanjing Tech University (CN), Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 25%
Nanoplatforms for cancer theranostics
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