Biosensing by luminogens with aggregation-induced emission characteristics

Fluorescent biosensors are powerful analytical tools for studying biological events in living systems. Luminescent materials with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) attributes have attracted much research interest and have been identified as a novel class of luminogens to develop fluorescent turn-on biosensors with superior sensitivity. In this Tutorial Review, we present an overview of the AIE phenomenon and its mechanism. We summarize the structural design and working principle of AIE biosensors developed recently. Typical examples of AIE biosensors are presented.