An AIE-active probe for efficient detection and high-throughput identification of outer membrane vesicles

Rapid detection and quantification of outer membrane vesicle(OMV)are of both scientific value and clinical implications.However,limited tools are available for investigations of OMVs.Herein,we report a novel fluorescent probe with aggregation-induced emission(AIE)characteristics,namely,OEO-TPE-MEM(OTM),for OMV detection.OTM emits faintly in an aqueous medium,but its fluorescence could be effectively turned on upon interacting with bacteria bodies and OMVs produced by Gram-negative bacteria.Notably,OTM could provide quantitative information on bacterial membrane remodeling and OMV secretion and be applied to high-throughput screening of OMV-inducing agents.This study presents a powerful AIE probe for imaging and quantitative analysis of bacteria envelop and derived OMVs,which might be applied for evaluating research and clinical antimicrobial materials in future studies.