Multimodal Imaging‐Guided Photothermal Immunotherapy Based on a Versatile NIR‐II Aggregation‐Induced Emission Luminogen

Abstract Synergistic photothermal immunotherapy has captured great attention owing to the mutually strengthening therapeutic outcomes towards both original tumors and abscopal tumors. Herein, a versatile theranostic agent displaying aggregation‐induced emission, namely TPA‐BT‐DPTQ, was designed and prepared based on benzo[ c ]thiophene unit as a building block; it can be used for simultaneous fluorescence imaging (FLI) in the second near‐infrared (NIR‐II) window, photoacoustic imaging (PAI), photothermal imaging (PTI), and thermal eradication of tumors. Further experiments validate that photothermal therapy (PTT) mediated by TPA‐BT‐DPTQ nanoparticles not only destroys the primary tumor but also enhances immunogenicity for further suppressing the growth of tumors at distant sites. Furthermore, PTT combining a programmed death‐ligand 1 (PD‐L1) antibody prevents the metastasis and recurrence of cancer by potentiating the effect of immunotherapy.