Promising Applications of AIEgens in Animal Models

In vivo investigations using small animal models are of great significance for the comprehensive understanding of biological and physiological functions-seeing is believing. Fluorescence imaging can provide real-time and dynamic information of living systems. During the past few years, aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIEgens) are widely and rapidly developed for biological detection, imaging, and medicine, owing to their distinct advantages of structural variety, easy functionalization, strong luminescence, large Stokes shift, high photobleaching-resistance, good biocompatibility, and so forth. In this review, recent advances in applying AIEgens in living animals are highlighted, including in vivo vascular and tumor-targeted imaging, monitoring biological processes, disease diagnosis, and image-guided therapy. The aim of this review is to provide a well-rounded view of the potential applications of AIEgens for biomedical research at the preclinical animal level for researchers and clinicians, and to inspire more practical inventions that will improve or assist clinical techniques.