Mesoporous silica functionalized with an AIE luminogen for drug delivery

An aggregation-induced emission (AIE) luminogen, tetraphenylethene, has been successfully grafted onto mesoporous silica SBA-15 for the first time. The materials emit blue light upon UV irradiation, and are photostable for the ibuprofen (IBU) drug loading and release process, indicating their great potential for biomedical applications.