Aggregation-induced emission: An illuminator in the brain

The brain is the central control hub of the whole body. Hence, the consequences of brain diseases can be lethal. Despite the progress in fundamental and clinical research, several key obstacles remain to be addressed. As an emerging science, aggregation-induced emission (AIE) has attracted great interest in the past few years owing to the overwhelming advantages of AIE luminogens (AIEgens), including their emission wavelength, quantum yield, spatial resolution, photosensitivity, photostability, signal-to-noise ratio, and biocompatibility. Herein, we provide a comprehensive summary of AIEgen applications in brain science, including health evaluation, disease detection, diagnosis, imaging, and therapeutics. The review has been summarized into five sections: i) Penetration of AIEgen-based nanomaterials across biological barriers; ii) Detection and diagnosis of brain diseases with AIEgen; iii) Bioimaging of the brain structure in health and disease with AIEgen; iv) Therapeutics for specific diseases in the brain using AIEgen; v) Future outlooks surrounding the applications of AIEgens in the brain. We hope that this review will promote a deeper understanding of the use of AIEgens in the neuroscience community and inspire additional research aimed at improving the current situation in the clinic.