Biomedical applications of AIE-active natural products and derivatives

Natural products, endowed by nature, are renowned for their structural diversity and favorable biocompatibility. However, their application in bioimaging still faces challenges such as low sensitivity, poor visualization capability, inadequate real-time monitoring performance, and compromised biocompatibility. Furthermore, in therapeutic applications, real-time imaging and dynamic monitoring remain plagued by high background noise and low sensitivity. Fortunately, the discovery of aggregation-induced emission (AIE) provides a novel perspective for addressing these limitations. In recent years, researchers have identified numerous natural products that either inherently exhibit AIE characteristics or can be judiciously engineered into efficient AIE luminogens (AIEgens). These natural AIEgens function as illuminated "colorful" fluorescent probes, not only providing a unique window for elucidating traditional pharmacological mechanisms but also demonstrating great potential in integrated diagnostics and therapeutics across various biomedical fields, including organelle imaging, cancer theranostics, and antibacterial/anti-inflammatory applications. This review systematically summarizes the recent advances of AIE-active natural products, aiming to provide a "navigation map" for natural AIE research.