{"title":"Front Cover: Engineered Platelets for Cancer Therapy","authors":"Kai Zhang, Hongyang Li, Zhaoyu Ma, Wenbin Zhong, Yongkang Yu, Yanli Zhao","doi":"10.1002/agt2.70010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/agt2.70010","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This review article highlights various types of engineered platelets used to inhibit tumor growth and prevent postoperative tumor recurrence and metastasis. The challenges faced by engineered platelets in clinical translation are discussed, aiming to provide insights into the development of advanced platelet-based therapeutics in cancer treatment (e704).\u0000\u0000 <figure>\u0000 <div><picture>\u0000 <source></source></picture><p></p>\u0000 </div>\u0000 </figure></p>","PeriodicalId":72127,"journal":{"name":"Aggregate (Hoboken, N.J.)","volume":"6 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/agt2.70010","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143446873","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rongkun Zhou, Chao Li, Zihao Wen, Chen Zhang, Yijie Shi, Hao Hou, Xiaoqing Chen, Qian Kang, Yongzhe Zhang, Hui Yan, Han Yu, Yi Zhao, Zilong Zheng, He Yan
{"title":"Inside Front Cover: Intrinsic role of alkyl side chains in disorder, aggregates, and carrier mobility of nonfullerene acceptors for organic solar cells: A multiscale theoretical study","authors":"Rongkun Zhou, Chao Li, Zihao Wen, Chen Zhang, Yijie Shi, Hao Hou, Xiaoqing Chen, Qian Kang, Yongzhe Zhang, Hui Yan, Han Yu, Yi Zhao, Zilong Zheng, He Yan","doi":"10.1002/agt2.70011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/agt2.70011","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Although the aggregates of Y6-type acceptors with long linear side-chains enhance the molecular stacking order, the conjugated backbones are enveloped by the side-chains. This hinders the formation of continuous conductive network in organic solar cells. In contrast, the use of branched side-chains mitigates this issue, strengthening electronic coupling between the backbones and thereby improving the electron mobility in Y6-type domains (e664).\u0000\u0000 <figure>\u0000 <div><picture>\u0000 <source></source></picture><p></p>\u0000 </div>\u0000 </figure></p>","PeriodicalId":72127,"journal":{"name":"Aggregate (Hoboken, N.J.)","volume":"6 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/agt2.70011","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143446869","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xueqian Zhao, Junyi Gong, Zikang Li, Herman H. Y. Sung, Ian D. Williams, Jacky W. Y. Lam, Zheng Zhao, Ben Zhong Tang, Wai-Yeung Wong, Linli Xu
{"title":"Back Cover: Au···I coinage bonds: Boosting photoluminescence efficiency and solid-state molecular motion","authors":"Xueqian Zhao, Junyi Gong, Zikang Li, Herman H. Y. Sung, Ian D. Williams, Jacky W. Y. Lam, Zheng Zhao, Ben Zhong Tang, Wai-Yeung Wong, Linli Xu","doi":"10.1002/agt2.70009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/agt2.70009","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This paper describes an AIE-active Au(I) complex, ITCPAu, characterized by Au···I coinage bonds that enhance photoluminescence efficiency and facilitate solid-state molecular motion. The study highlights its multiswitchable behavior, nearly pure white-light emission, and versatility as a carrier for solvent molecules. These findings provide valuable insights into Au···I noncovalent interactions for smart material development (e686).\u0000\u0000 <figure>\u0000 <div><picture>\u0000 <source></source></picture><p></p>\u0000 </div>\u0000 </figure></p>","PeriodicalId":72127,"journal":{"name":"Aggregate (Hoboken, N.J.)","volume":"6 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/agt2.70009","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143446871","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Enhancing SDT Efficacy of Doxorubicin-Loaded Sonosensitizer Micelles to Overcome Resistance of Cancer Therapy by Optimizing Acoustic Parameters","authors":"Zhuoran Gong, Deshang Hou, Yunxue Xu, Mengxuan Wang, Shiyin Lin, Yingjuan Zheng, Zhifei Dai","doi":"10.1002/agt2.70005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/agt2.70005","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Tumor drug resistance has been reported to be associated with drug efflux in tumor cells. Recently, a noninvasive and safe mechanism, sonodynamic therapy (SDT), has been proposed to be an oxidative stress strategy to potentially overcome drug efflux, but with efficacy limitation. Herein, we propose a systematic strategy for optimizing SDT, especially revealing the key role of acoustics parameters acting in SDT efficiency. A doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded sonosensitive micelle (DPM) mediated “sono-force” combination (chemotherapy and sonodynamic) therapy strategy, named DPCSTs, which was designed for amplifying SDT to augment oxidative stress to overcome drug efflux and induce robust long-term inhibition of tumor development by optimized acoustic parameters. The sub-10 nm size DPM enhanced tumor targeting and renal clearance. Meanwhile, another important component, doxorubicin, significantly suppressed residual tumors (78.6%) due to “sono-force” augmented oxidative stress reversing drug efflux, finally leading to long-term tumor development limitation in vivo. It is the first time to propose a systematic strategy for optimizing SDT regimens to overcome resistance, which can synergize with chemotherapy to exert long-term tumor development inhibition. We believe that this work will advance SDT-related research to a new level, and improve our understanding of overcoming resistance of targeted cancer therapy.</p>","PeriodicalId":72127,"journal":{"name":"Aggregate (Hoboken, N.J.)","volume":"6 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/agt2.70005","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144091510","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zhigang Shuai, Qi Sun, Jiajun Ren, Tong Jiang, Weitang Li
{"title":"Excited State Structure and Decay Rates for Aggregates","authors":"Zhigang Shuai, Qi Sun, Jiajun Ren, Tong Jiang, Weitang Li","doi":"10.1002/agt2.70013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/agt2.70013","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Electronic excited state in molecular aggregate or exciton states continue to attract great attention due to the increasing demands for applications of molecular optoelectronics and sensing technology. The working principle behind the application is closely related to the excited state structure and dynamic processes in molecular aggregate. In our previous review article (Aggregate 2021; 2: e91), we focused more on the molecular mechanism for aggregation-induced emission process. Here, we are going to summarize our recent progress on theoretical investigations on the effects of excitonic coupling (<i>J</i>) and the intermolecular charge transfer (CT) on the excited state structure and dynamic processes. These are in general missing for molecular quantum chemistry studies. We will first present a novel definition of exciton coherence length which can present a bijective relation with the radiative decay rate and obviously we have clarified the confusion appeared in literature. Then, we will look at the CT effect for aggregate starting from a simple three-state model coupled with quantum chemical calculation for molecular dimer and we focus on the intensity borrowing, which can turn H-aggregate into emissive when the electron transfer and hole transfer integrals possessing the same sign and being large enough. We are able to propose a molecular descriptor to design molecular materials possibly possessing both high photoluminescence quantum yield and carrier mobility. Finally, we introduce our work on the modified energy gap law for non-radiative decay rate in aggregates. We found there exist optimal <i>J</i> to minimize the non-radiative decay loss.</p>","PeriodicalId":72127,"journal":{"name":"Aggregate (Hoboken, N.J.)","volume":"6 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/agt2.70013","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143840974","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Berçin V. Asya, Sitao Wang, Eric Euchler, Vu Ngoc Khiêm, Robert Göstl
{"title":"Optical Force Probes for Spatially Resolved Imaging of Polymer Damage and Failure","authors":"Berçin V. Asya, Sitao Wang, Eric Euchler, Vu Ngoc Khiêm, Robert Göstl","doi":"10.1002/agt2.70014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/agt2.70014","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Polymer deformation spans 7–10 orders of magnitude in length scales, making its analysis a significant challenge. Optical force probes (OFPs), functional molecular motifs in polymer mechanochemistry, enable the study of mechanical properties by undergoing force-activated optical changes, such as absorption, fluorescence, or chemiluminescence. This review highlights OFPs integrated within polymer materials, focusing on their mechanical properties, optical methods for force elucidation, and the insights they provide. Special attention is given to high-resolution microscopy combined with OFPs, enabling qualitative and quantitative imaging of material damage and failure at unprecedented spatial resolution. While binary OFPs respond at critical strain thresholds, ideal for detecting permanent damage and stress hotspots, continuum OFPs track strain proportionally through reversible optical mechanisms, providing dynamic, real-time strain mapping. Together, these systems advance material diagnostics, offering complementary capabilities to study stress distribution, improve durability predictions, and understand polymer failure mechanisms.</p>","PeriodicalId":72127,"journal":{"name":"Aggregate (Hoboken, N.J.)","volume":"6 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/agt2.70014","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143840917","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Wenzhe Chen, Hantian Guan, Yongfeng Lu, Guohua Zeng, Di Gu, Keying Guo, Cheng Jiang, Hongxing Liu
{"title":"Harnessing Aggregation-Induced Emission-Based Detection Toolbox for Diagnostics of Urogenital Tumors","authors":"Wenzhe Chen, Hantian Guan, Yongfeng Lu, Guohua Zeng, Di Gu, Keying Guo, Cheng Jiang, Hongxing Liu","doi":"10.1002/agt2.70008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/agt2.70008","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Urogenital system tumors include prostate cancer, bladder cancer, ovarian cancer, and other very common solid tumor diseases with high morbidity and high mortality. The unique physiological and anatomical features of the urogenital system render it particularly amenable to the application of tissue imaging techniques for diagnostic purposes. The advancement of aggregation-induced emission (AIE) materials has addressed the limitations associated with conventional fluorescent materials that are prone to aggregation-caused quenching. This advancement has facilitated the development of innovative AIE fluorescent materials characterized by enhanced photostability, an increased signal-to-noise ratio, and improved imaging quality. This article reviews the research progress of AIE biosensors in the diagnosis of urogenital tumors. It mainly involves biomarker diagnostic in vitro and fluorescence imaging in urogenital solid tumors such as prostate cancer, uterine cancer, bladder cancer, and ovarian cancer, which are based on AIE biosensors. In addition, a comprehensive description of AIE biosensors’ synthesis and application strategies is provided. This includes a detailed elucidation of in vitro diagnostic platforms and intracellular imaging mechanisms based on the basic principles of AIE, accompanied by a presentation of quantitative analysis and cell imaging results. In addition, the limitations, challenges and suggestions of AIE biosensors application in the field of tumor diagnosis are summarized, and the development prospect of AIE biosensors in the field of tumor diagnosis is prospected. This article reviews the application of AIE biosensors in the diagnosis of urogenital tumors, and also provides a catalyst for exploring the characteristics of AIE biosensors and its wide application in the field of disease diagnosis.</p>","PeriodicalId":72127,"journal":{"name":"Aggregate (Hoboken, N.J.)","volume":"6 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/agt2.70008","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143840959","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xueyu Jiang, Fanwei Zeng, Yan Li, Yang Yi, Xiaodong Tang, Ang Lu
{"title":"Ultrafine-Mn-Loaded N,O-Doped Nanocarbon via Mott‒Schottky Effect for Photo-Enhanced Antibacterial Therapy and Wound Healing","authors":"Xueyu Jiang, Fanwei Zeng, Yan Li, Yang Yi, Xiaodong Tang, Ang Lu","doi":"10.1002/agt2.70002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/agt2.70002","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Bacterial infections are one of the greatest threats to wound healing, and microbial resistance has increased the demand for new antimicrobial dressings. Artificial nanozymes possess myriad considerable advantages, including low cost and high activity, for targeted biological treatments. Despite significant efforts made in nanozyme engineering, significant challenge remains that their catalytic performance is far from satisfactory in wound treatment. Herein, based on biowaste valorisation, we propose a sustainable and efficient strategy to synthesize an ultrafine-Mn-loaded (3.0 ± 1 nm) N,O-doped porous nanocarbons (Mn-PNCs) nanozyme via the Mott−Schottky effect. The nanozyme achieves mid-temperature (45.8°C) and superior photothermal conversion efficiency (77.62%), photothermally enhanced peroxidase-like activity that contributes to the effective treatment of methicillin-resistant <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>-infected wounds. The photo-enzyme platform further reduced the inflammatory response, normalized epidermal tissue regeneration, and accelerated wound healing. Notably, the mechanism demonstrated that this Mott−Schottky catalyst can trigger the rapid transfer of electrons to release reactive oxygen species (ROS) species, as a heterojunction system is strongly capable of changing the electron density within the metal. Under photothermal induction, the Mott–Schottky contact can be used to fabricate other polysaccharide-derived nanozymes in tissue engineering, or on the high-value application of biomass resources.</p>","PeriodicalId":72127,"journal":{"name":"Aggregate (Hoboken, N.J.)","volume":"6 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/agt2.70002","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144091226","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Smart Visualized Phototherapy Switch: From NIR-I Imaging-Guided Photodynamic Therapy to NIR-II-Guided Photothermal Therapy for Enhanced Cascade Tumor Photoablation","authors":"Lixin Sun, Hongyu Wu, Ziwen Zhang, Kehuan Wu, Jie Sun, Xuemei Dong, Chengjun Dong, Chunchang Zhao, Xianfeng Gu, Da-Hui Qu","doi":"10.1002/agt2.70007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/agt2.70007","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Imaging-guided phototherapy holds promise for precision cancer treatment. However, most photosensitizers have only a singular modality of photodynamic therapy (PDT) or photothermal therapy (PTT), which make their therapeutic efficacy severely limited by the hypoxic and complex tumor microenvironment (TME). In this article, we provide a smart platform design (BOD-D) based on a visualized light-triggered phototherapeutic switch for transforming cancer therapy from near-infrared (NIR)-I imaging-guided PDT to activatable NIR-II-guided PTT while releasing nitric oxide (NO) for gas therapy (GT). BOD-D releases native NIR one-region fluorescence signals in tumors, which is used to direct robust PDT for tumor killing. As PDT is administered, the decreasing oxygen content in TME becomes progressively insufficient to maintain its excellent cell-killing effect. Subsequently, light triggers the dissociation of NO in BOD-D, activating a photothermal agent BOD-T that emits NIR-II fluorescence, for subsequent PTT. Notably, not only the light-mediated therapeutic mechanism can be switched from NIR-I-guided PDT to NIR-II-guided PTT, but also the NO released during this process will be used for GT to sensitize the above PDT and PTT. Our study contributes to the design of intelligent photosensitizers for cascade tumor photoablation.</p>","PeriodicalId":72127,"journal":{"name":"Aggregate (Hoboken, N.J.)","volume":"6 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/agt2.70007","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144091540","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Multifunctional Ultra-Bright Plasmonic Gold@Fluorescence Nanoprobe for Biomedical Applications","authors":"Caiping Ding, Wenjing Li, Xiaolin Huang, Ben Zhong Tang, Youju Huang","doi":"10.1002/agt2.744","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/agt2.744","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Metal-enhanced fluorescence (MEF) represents a captivating phenomenon that transpires when fluorophores are situated in close vicinity to the surface of metallic nanostructures, leading to a nuanced augmentation of their fluorescent characteristics. Given its efficacy in enhancing excitation rates, quantum yield, and photostability, MEF has firmly established itself as a highly valuable tool for augmenting biosensor sensitivity, bioimaging clarity, and intensifying therapeutic responses. Notably, plasmonic gold nanostructures, inherently advantageous for MEF, have been widely utilized in signal amplification, fluorescent labeling, and theranostics. In this endeavor, we undertake a comprehensive examination of MEF-enabled gold nanostructures, meticulously analyzing their fundamental enhancement mechanisms, crucial influencing factors, and diverse modes of enhancement. Furthermore, we spotlight the exemplary applications of these nanostructures in biosensing, bioimaging, and theranostics, underscoring their revolutionary potential. Ultimately, we offer a glimpse into the future prospects for improvement and the challenges that beset gold-based MEF. Our attention is steadfastly directed toward the essential scientific questions and technical hurdles that remain to be surmounted, inviting readers to partake in an exciting exploration of this dynamic and promising field.</p>","PeriodicalId":72127,"journal":{"name":"Aggregate (Hoboken, N.J.)","volume":"6 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/agt2.744","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144091336","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}