Aggregation-Induced Emission: Synthesis of Imidazole-Based AIEgens with Wide Color Tunability and Exploration of their Biological Applications (Adv. Funct. Mater. 6/2016)

A series of aggregation-induced emission (AIE) luminogens (AIEgens) based on imidazole-cored molecular rotors are designed and synthesized by B. Liu, B. Z. Tang, and co-workers. By selecting appropriate acceptors, these AIEgens have emission colors covering the whole visible spectrum. On page 824, they are shown to exhibit organelle specificity and are applied for mitochondria imaging. Moreover, due to the antifungal characteristics of imidazole moiety, the imidazole derivatives are demonstrated for the inhibition of yeast growth and the evaluation of antifungal activity.