The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Ji Qi

Benzhong Tang

Ming Ju Chen

Pengfei Zhang

Wei Qin

Dan Ding

A compound comprises a donor and an acceptor, wherein at least one donor ('D') and at least one acceptor (“A”) may be arranged in an order of D-A; D-A-D; A-D-A; D-D-A-D-D; A-A-D-A-A; D-A-D-A-D; and A-D-A-D-A. The compound may be selected from the group consisting of: MTPE-TP, MTPE-TT, TPE-TP A-TT, PTZ-BT-TP A, NPB-TQ, TPE-TQ-A, MTPE-BTSe, DCDPP-2TP A, DCDPP-2TPA4M, DCDP-2TPA, DCDP-2TPA4M, TTS, ROpen-DTE-TPECM, and RClosed-DTE-TPECM. The compound may be used as a probe and may be functionalized with special targeted groups to image biological species. As non-limiting examples, the compound may be used in cellular cytoplasms or tissue imaging, blood vessel imaging, in vivo fluorescence imaging, brain vascular imaging, sentinel lymph node mapping, and tumor imaging, and the compound may be used as a photoacoustic agent.

Luminogens for biological applications

A theranostic agent can be used in both photoacoustic imaging (PAI) and photothermal therapy (PTT) applications. The theranostic agent can include a small molecule, organic compound with absorption in the near-infrared (NIR) interrogation window (700-900 nm). The compound can be a biocompatible organic nanoparticle (ONP). The theranostic agent can be effectively used in PAI and PAI-guided PTT applications. The theranostic agent can be administered to a patient to locate a tumor site in the patient using in vivo imaging techniques. Once the tumor site has been determined, the tumor site can be irradiated with near-infrared light to stop or inhibit the growth of the tumor. An exemplary theranostic agent is provided below 

Theranostic agents

A compound comprises a donor and an acceptor, wherein at least one donor ('D') and at least one acceptor ('A') may be arranged in an order of D-A; D-A-D; A-D-A; D-D-A-D-D; A-A-D-A-A; D-A-D-A-D; and A-D-A-D-A. The compound may be selected from the group consisting of: MTPE-TP, MTPE-TT, TPE-TPA-TT, PTZ-BT-TPA, NPB-TQ, TPE-TQ-A, MTPE-BTSe, DCDPP-2TPA, DCDPP-2TPA4M, DCDP-2TPA, DCDP-2TPA4M, TTS, ROpen-DTE-TPECM, and RClosed-DTE-TPECM. The compound may be used as a probe and may be functionalized with special targeted groups to image biological species. As non-limiting examples, the compound may be used in cellular cytoplasms or tissue imaging, blood vessel imaging, in vivo fluorescence imaging, brain vascular imaging, sentinel lymph node mapping, and tumor imaging, and the compound may be used as a photoacoustic agent.

Growing community of inventors

Hong Kong, China

Ji Qi