Application of aggregation-induced emission (AIE) in the urinary system disease

AIE is a unique photophysical phenomenon, and its distinctive luminescence properties have demonstrated significant potential in the biomedical field. In urinary system diseases, AIE materials, with their high quantum yield, excellent optical properties, and environmental responsiveness, have been widely applied in the early diagnosis, precise treatment, and drug delivery of urinary system cancers. This review systematically summarizes the applications of AIE materials in urinary cancers, such as bladder cancer, renal cancer, prostate cancer, and upper urinary tract cancer, including fluorescence imaging, photodynamic therapy, and drug delivery techniques. Additionally, the review explores the application of AIE materials in the diagnosis of urinary tract infections and renal lesions, as well as their advantages when combined with other imaging technologies (e.g., CT, MRI, and ultrasound). Furthermore, the article analyzes the challenges faced in clinical translation, such as biocompatibility, stability, and large-scale synthesis, while proposing future development directions, including customized molecular design and multifunctional applications combined with nanotechnology.

Aggregation-Induced Emission (AIE) materials, as emerging fluorescent materials, possess unique luminescent properties and have shown tremendous potential in the early diagnosis and treatment of urinary system diseases. Unlike traditional fluorescent materials, AIE materials significantly enhance their fluorescence intensity when aggregated and exhibit excellent biocompatibility and responsiveness. These features make them highly advantageous in areas such as bioimaging, drug delivery, and photodynamic therapy. Urinary cancers, such as bladder cancer, kidney cancer, and prostate cancer, as well as benign urinary diseases, have long been important research areas in the medical field. Although existing diagnostic methods like CT, ultrasound, and cystoscopy offer certain diagnostic accuracy, they often have limitations such as invasiveness, high costs, and insufficient accuracy. Therefore, there is a pressing need to develop non-invasive, highly sensitive diagnostic technologies and targeted therapeutic strategies.

This article aims to review the applications of AIE materials in urinary system cancers, urinary tract infections, and renal diseases, and explore their integration with imaging techniques such as CT, MRI, and ultrasound. The article also discusses the challenges in clinical translation and future development directions.

AIE materials have demonstrated tremendous potential in the diagnosis and treatment of urinary system diseases, particularly in early screening, targeted drug delivery, and precision therapy. However, AIE materials still face several challenges in clinical application, including issues related to stability, biocompatibility, synthesis costs, and large-scale clinical translation. Current research focuses on improving the stability of AIE materials, prolonging their retention at tumor sites, and enhancing their biocompatibility. Additionally, the synthesis of AIE materials remains complex and costly, necessitating the development of efficient, low-cost synthesis methods to meet the demand for large-scale production. Furthermore, AIE materials are still in the early stages of clinical application, requiring solutions to stringent drug approval processes, long-term safety evaluations, and the accumulation of clinical trial data.

Looking ahead, the future development of AIE materials will focus on several key areas. First, the customized design of novel AIE molecules and innovative strategies will play a crucial role in enhancing their targeting ability and specificity in precision medicine. By precisely engineering the chemical structures of AIE molecules, they can be tailored as probes for different diseases, improving diagnostic and therapeutic accuracy. Second, the integration of nanotechnology and smart materials will further enhance the application of AIE materials in disease diagnosis and therapy. Nanotechnology can endow AIE materials with new functionalities, such as improved tissue penetration, enhanced targeting capabilities, and modulation of in vivo metabolic behavior. In the future, AIE materials, when combined with controlled-release drug delivery systems, are expected to become essential tools for medical imaging and precision therapy, driving early screening, diagnosis, treatment, and personalized management of urinary system diseases.

With advancements in molecular design, nanotechnology integration, and surface modification, AIE materials are expected to play a significant role in future clinical medicine, providing strong support for precision medicine, enabling widespread applications in targeted drug delivery and early disease detection, and contributing significantly to personalized therapy.
This paper was published in Biofuctional Materials (ISSN: 2959-0582), an online multidisciplinary open access journal aiming to provide a peer-reviewed forum for innovation, research and development related to bioactive materials, biomedical materials, bio-inspired materials, bio-fabrications and other bio-functional materials.

The Article Processing Charges (APCs) are entirely waived for papers submitted before the end of 2025.

Citation: Cao X, Yan Y, Zhu X, Huang Z, Yang C, et al. Application of aggregation-induced emission (AIE) in the urinary system disease. Biofunct. Mater. 2025(1):0005, https://doi.org/10.55092/bm20250005.