Advanced Luminescent Materials in Biological Detection, Imaging, and Diagnostic Applications

A special issue of Biosensors (ISSN 2079-6374). This special issue belongs to the section "Biosensor and Bioelectronic Devices".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 July 2026 | Viewed by 1712

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Center for AIE Research, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
Interests: organic fluorescence probes; bioimaging; phototheranostics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Biosensors explores the intersection of luminescent materials and biosensing, highlighting advanced materials that are engineered to interact specifically with biological systems for detection, imaging, and diagnostic purposes.

A key focus lies on the application of luminescent materials—such as quantum dots, rare earth nanoparticles, carbon-based nanomaterials, metal nanoclusters, organic probes, porous framework materials, and hybrid materials—within functional biosensing architectures. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Design of luminescent biosensors for high-sensitivity detection of biological signaling molecules (e.g., ions, gases, ROS, proteins, and nucleic acids), metabolites, and pathogens.
  • Luminescent material-based imaging agents for high-resolution molecular microscopy, cellular tracking, and in vivo imaging.
  • Ratiometric, multiplexed, and activatable probes for improved analytical accuracy.
  • Integration of luminescent materials with lab-on-a-chip, wearable, and point-of-need devices.
  • Signal amplification strategies and single-molecule biosensing.

We welcome studies that address material–biology interface challenges, such as bioconjugation strategies, stability in complex media, and quantitative biosensing performance. Submissions may also explore applications in environmental monitoring, food safety, bioprocess control, clinical, and non-clinical diagnostic development.

This Special Issue aims to showcase innovations where luminescent materials serve as essential enabling components in next-generation biosensing systems, offering new dimensions in speed, specificity, and multi-parameter detection.

Dr. Zhijun Zhang
Prof. Dr. Dong Wang
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • luminescent materials
  • biosensing
  • molecular imaging
  • cellular tracking
  • in vivo imaging
  • disease diagnosis

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 8758 KB  
Article
From the Clinic, to the Clinic: Improving the Fluorescent Imaging Quality of ICG via Amphiphilic NIR-IIa AIE Probe
by Anjun Zhu, Zhibo Xiao, Aihui Sun, Feng Lu, Haozhou Tang, Xuekun Zhang, Ran Ren, Wei Yu, Andong Shao, Ninghan Feng, Shouyu Wang, Jianming Ni and Yaxi Li
Biosensors 2026, 16(2), 90; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios16020090 - 1 Feb 2026
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 672
Abstract
Fluorescence imaging is crucial for providing detailed information in clinical practice. However, traditional first near-infrared (NIR-I) dyes such as indocyanine green (ICG) exhibit limitations such as shallow penetration depth, low contrast, and suboptimal clarity due to light scattering and autofluorescence. To overcome these [...] Read more.
Fluorescence imaging is crucial for providing detailed information in clinical practice. However, traditional first near-infrared (NIR-I) dyes such as indocyanine green (ICG) exhibit limitations such as shallow penetration depth, low contrast, and suboptimal clarity due to light scattering and autofluorescence. To overcome these drawbacks, we utilized a novel amphiphilic second near-infrared (NIR-II) aggregation-induced emission (AIE) probe (TCP) with an emission range beyond 1300 nm (NIR-IIa). Using approximately 200 co-registered NIR-I/NIR-IIa image pairs acquired with TCP, we trained a SwinUnet-based deep learning model to transform low-quality NIR-I ICG images into high-resolution NIR-IIa-like images. Owing to its superior brightness and photostability, TCP enhances in vivo fluorescent angiography, offering clearer vascular details and a higher signal-to-background ratio (SBR) in the NIR-IIa region, 2.6-fold higher than that of ICG in the NIR-I region. The deep learning model successfully converted blurred NIR-I images into high-SBR NIR-IIa-like images, achieving rapid imaging speeds without compromising quality. This work introduces a synergistic “probe-plus-AI” paradigm that substantially improves both the quality and speed of clinical fluorescence imaging, providing a pathway that is immediately translatable to enhanced diagnostics and image-guided surgery. Full article
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Review

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37 pages, 22781 KB  
Review
NIR-II AIEgens for Phototheranostics: Design, Applications and Perspectives
by Baoqing Zhao, Xianchuan Zeng, Yuyao Su, Kui Ren, Zhijun Zhang, Fei Zhang and Dong Wang
Biosensors 2026, 16(4), 219; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios16040219 - 14 Apr 2026
Viewed by 642
Abstract
The design of novel aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-active molecules represents a cutting-edge strategy for integrated phototheranostics in the second near-infrared (NIR-II) window. This review systematically outlines rational molecular engineering approaches based on D-A, D-A-D, and A-D-A systems to achieve red-shifted NIR-II absorption/emission, enhanced AIE [...] Read more.
The design of novel aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-active molecules represents a cutting-edge strategy for integrated phototheranostics in the second near-infrared (NIR-II) window. This review systematically outlines rational molecular engineering approaches based on D-A, D-A-D, and A-D-A systems to achieve red-shifted NIR-II absorption/emission, enhanced AIE characteristics, and balanced radiative and non-radiative decay pathways. These AIEgens enable high-contrast NIR-II fluorescence imaging (FLI) and photoacoustic imaging (PAI) for precise tumor localization, while concurrently facilitating efficient photothermal therapy (PTT) and robust photodynamic therapy (PDT) through both type-I and type-II mechanisms. Nanoformulations of these molecules exhibit excellent stability, biocompatibility, and passive targeting via the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect. We further highlight representative “all-in-one” AIE platforms that demonstrate synergistic PTT/PDT under multimodal imaging guidance, offering a promising paradigm for precision cancer theranostics. Challenges and future directions in clinical translation and combination therapy are also discussed. Full article
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