A Highly Efficient Aggregation-induced Emission Photosensitizer for Photodynamic Combat of Multidrug-resistant Bacteria

With the antibiotic abuse and the resulting increased antibiotic resistance,the bacterial infection has posed a serious threat to human health.Photodynamic therapy is an effective tool for treating localized and superficial infections.It is a promising approach for the treatment of superbugs and with minimal risk of induced antibiotic resistance.Herein,an isoquinolinium-based photosensitizer,LIQ-TPE,with aggregation-induced emission properties is designed and synthesized.It is with high 1O2 generation efficiency and shows efficient antibacterial performance towards both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria,and even methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA).LIQ-TPE thus shows great promise as an effective antimicrobial agent to combat the menace of multi-drug resistant bacteria.