Meijia Gu

Cancer photothermal immunotherapy has attracted great attention in cancer treatment for its ability to trigger systemic antitumor immune responses and reverse tumor immune tolerance, offering prospects for clinical application. However, conventional photothermal agents suffer from aggregation-caused fluorescence quenching, low photothermal conversion efficiency (PCE), and the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME), which severely restrict their therapeutic efficacy and clinical translation. Aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIEgens) effectively overcome these drawbacks by virtue of their unique aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics and tailorable molecular structures. Molecular engineering strategies can be further adopted to modulate the molecular structures of AIEgens for the treatment of different types of cancer. On this basis, nanodelivery systems including synthetic carriers and biomimetic carriers can further improve the solubility of materials, enhance deep tumor penetration, and achieve efficient immune synergy. This review summarizes the recent progress in AIE-based photothermal immunotherapy, with a particular emphasis on immune regulatory mechanisms, as well as molecular engineering strategies, nanocarrier design, and theranostic applications.

Developing simple and convenient strategies to eliminate drug‐resistant pathogen‐transmission routes efficiently is extremely urgent for hospital healthcare. Candidozyma auris ( C. auris ) is an emerging nosocomial pathogen with multidrug resistance that easily forms biofilms, aggravating the risk of spreading in public places. Herein, a novel visible light‐induced disinfectant spray with a boric‐acid‐functionalized lipophilic cation, TB, was developed. The boronic acid groups enable simultaneous targeting of polysaccharide‐rich cell walls and extracellular polymeric substances within biofilms. TB spray achieved a > 99.9% reduction in C. auris with light and reduced biofilm biomass by approximately 85.2%. TB's polysaccharide targeting, pH‐enhanced properties, positive charge, and particle size enable it to effectively bind to C. auris in acidic biofilm microenvironments, boosting photodynamic inactivation, collapsing biofilms, and preventing recurrence. It produces reactive oxygen species through Type I and II pathways, ensuring high efficacy even in hypoxic conditions, making it ideal for disinfecting high‐touch surfaces. In a rat model of ventilator‐associated pneumonia, TB markedly reduced pulmonary C. auris loads by over 100‐fold and significantly attenuated lung injury. Furthermore, the breakdown of polysaccharides enhanced the hydrophobicity of both abiotic and biological surfaces, as well as the increased contact angle, inhibiting biofilm adhesion. Multiomics analysis revealed that TB suppressed C. auris by disrupting genes associated with oxidative stress response, ergosterol biosynthesis, and biofilm maintenance. This visible light‐induced disinfectant spray holds great potential to combat outbreaks of high‐risk pathogens and could revolutionize disinfection practices in healthcare settings.

Melanoma causes over 80% of skin cancer-related deaths, with conventional therapies hampered by its aggressiveness, metastasis, and drug resistance. Noninvasive, biocompatible strategies are promising for next-generation cancer treatments. Herein, we developed a soft, stretchable laser-induced graphene (LIG)-Cu/PDMS patch, consisting of CuO-embedded LIG (active component) and biocompatible PDMS (flexible matrix). Chemically inert and breathable, the patch minimizes toxic side effects. Upon photothermal activation, it releases Cu²⁺ that accumulates in melanoma tissue. In a mouse model, two 1-h phototherapy sessions achieved effective tumor suppression within 10 days. Mechanistically, the patch enhances reactive oxygen species production, inducing apoptosis, cuproptosis, and ferroptosis. It also inhibits tumor invasion/metastasis and boosts antitumor immunity, with stable performance enabling multiple uses (energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable). This work demonstrates graphene-based materials' potential in cancer therapy via synergistic activation of multiple cell death pathways and efficacy in low-temperature phototherapy, expanding graphene's application in malignant tumor treatment and highlighting its clinical translation prospects.

This review highlights the application and the AIE-sensing mechanism of AIEgens in ophthalmic diseases.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT), which relies on the activation of photosensitizers by specific wavelengths of light to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) for targeted pathogen or diseased tissue eradication, offers substantial promise for clinical wound management. However, its application in diabetic wound management remains constrained by suboptimal therapeutic efficacy, recurrent infections, treatment-associated pain, scar formation, and dependence on costly specialized equipment. Here, we present a sunlight-activated nanospray formulation comprising chitosan oligosaccharide-coated nanoparticles (SPS), engineered for the rapid and effective management of diabetic wounds in outdoor and resource-limited settings. SPS enables efficient ROS generation under ambient natural light, thereby reducing treatment-associated discomfort while maintaining effective photodynamic antimicrobial action. Additionally, the chitosan oligosaccharide coating confers intrinsic hemostatic, antibacterial, and antioxidative properties that synergistically accelerate wound closure and reduce the risk of scarring. The topical spray delivery circumvents systemic phototoxicity, improving patient compliance and broadening the accessibility of PDT. This strategy effectively overcomes the inherent limitations of conventional PDT by leveraging ambient light for activation and providing a cost-effective, non-invasive, and patient-friendly platform for diabetic wound care, thereby expanding the clinical utility of photodynamic interventions for managing chronic and complex wounds.

Photoactivated nanovaccines enhance immune responses through light-controlled antigen release and phototherapy-induced ICD for cancer and infection treatment.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) continues to pose a significant challenge in the field of neuro‐oncology primarily because of the limited penetration of therapeutics across the blood‐brain barrier (BBB) and the presence of immunosuppressive tumor microenvironments. To address these challenges, a HD‐PEG _2K @BM biomimetic nanoplatform (hereinafter referred to as HD‐P@BM) is developed that cloaks the near‐infrared II photosensitizer HD‐PEG _2K (HD‐P) inside microglial membranes to enable enhanced BBB penetration and tumor‐targeted delivery. In this study, it is found that the microglia‐derived membranes enhanced the uptake of nanoparticles by both the glioma cells and tumor‐associated microglia. Furthermore, irradiation with 808 nm laser induced a photodynamic effect that caused mitochondrial dysfunction and elicited immunogenic cell death. Notably, HD‐P@BM reprogrammed the immunosuppressive microglia to pro‐inflammatory M1 phenotypes, which promoted cytotoxic T‐cell infiltration and remodeled the tumor immune landscape. In orthotopic GBM models, HD‐P@BM significantly suppressed tumor growth, prolonged survival, and mitigated systemic toxicity. This multifunctional strategy synergized biomimetic delivery, photodynamic therapy (PDT), and immunotherapy is a promising therapeutic approach for GBM. Thus, this study establishes a multifunctional nanotherapeutic strategy that combines enhanced BBB penetration, precise tumor targeting, and synergistic PDT, showing high potential for effective clinical GBM treatment.