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.
Authors
- Jiangwei Cui
- Li Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0543-5519)
- Hao Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0652-3297)
- Jie Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6035-0131)
- Da Ma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3770-1989)
- Ye Qin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3192-0857)
- Mengjie Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-0137-6949)
- Xunwen Zhang
- W. D. Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7041-8272)
Institutions
- Nanjing Tech University (CN)
- Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Small
- Published
- 2026-03-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202514912
- Primary Topic
- Nanoplatforms for cancer theranostics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00