An AIE Metal Iridium Complex: Photophysical Properties and Singlet Oxygen Generation Capacity
Weijin Zhu,
Shengnan Liu,
Ziwei Wang,
Chunguang Shi,
Qiaohua Zhang,
Zihan Wu,
Guangzhe Li,
Dongxia Zhu
Affiliations
Weijin Zhu
Key Laboratory of Nanobiosensing and Nanobioanalysis at Universities of Jilin Province, Department of Chemistry, Northeast Normal University, 5268 Renmin Street, Changchun 130024, China
Shengnan Liu
Key Laboratory of Nanobiosensing and Nanobioanalysis at Universities of Jilin Province, Department of Chemistry, Northeast Normal University, 5268 Renmin Street, Changchun 130024, China
Ziwei Wang
Key Laboratory of Nanobiosensing and Nanobioanalysis at Universities of Jilin Province, Department of Chemistry, Northeast Normal University, 5268 Renmin Street, Changchun 130024, China
Chunguang Shi
Key Laboratory of Nanobiosensing and Nanobioanalysis at Universities of Jilin Province, Department of Chemistry, Northeast Normal University, 5268 Renmin Street, Changchun 130024, China
Qiaohua Zhang
Key Laboratory of Nanobiosensing and Nanobioanalysis at Universities of Jilin Province, Department of Chemistry, Northeast Normal University, 5268 Renmin Street, Changchun 130024, China
Zihan Wu
Key Laboratory of Nanobiosensing and Nanobioanalysis at Universities of Jilin Province, Department of Chemistry, Northeast Normal University, 5268 Renmin Street, Changchun 130024, China
Guangzhe Li
Jilin Provincial Science and Technology Innovation Center of Health Food of Chinese Medicine, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun 130117, China
Dongxia Zhu
Key Laboratory of Nanobiosensing and Nanobioanalysis at Universities of Jilin Province, Department of Chemistry, Northeast Normal University, 5268 Renmin Street, Changchun 130024, China
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has garnered significant attention in the fields of cancer treatment and drug-resistant bacteria eradication due to its non-invasive nature and spatiotemporal controllability. Iridium complexes have captivated researchers owing to their tunable structure, exceptional optical properties, and substantial Stokes displacement. However, most of these complexes suffer from aggregation-induced quenching, leading to diminished luminous efficiency. In contrast to conventional photosensitizers, photosensitizers exhibiting aggregation-induced luminescence (AIE) properties retain the ability to generate a large number of reactive oxygen species when aggregated. To overcome these limitations, we designed and synthesized a novel iridium complex named Ir-TPA in this study. It incorporates quinoline triphenylamine cyclomethylated ligands that confer AIE characteristics for Ir-TPA. We systematically investigated the photophysical properties, AIE behavior, spectral features, and reactive oxygen generation capacity of Ir-TPA. The results demonstrate that Ir-TPA exhibits excellent optical properties with pronounced AIE phenomenon and robust capability for producing singlet oxygen species. This work not only introduces a new class of metal iridium complex photosensitizer with AIE attributes but also holds promise for achieving remarkable photodynamic therapeutic effects in future cellular experiments and biological studies.
