A Water‐Soluble AIEgen for Noninvasive Diagnosis of Kidney Fibrosis via SWIR Fluorescence and Photoacoustic Imaging

Early diagnosis of renal fibrosis is crucially significant on account of its worldwide prevalent tendency. Optical imaging in the near-infrared window has been recognized as an appealing technique for the timely detection of renal dysfunction. However, formulating a contrast agent that allows early monitoring of renal fibrosis and concurrently renally clearable in a normal group is still challenging. Herein, a nanosized fluorophore with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) features, namely AIE-4PEG550 NPs, is well-tailored and amenable to longitudinal visualization of the fibrosis progression specifically in the early-stage via short-wave infrared (SWIR, 900-1700 nm) fluorescence and photoacoustic bimodal imaging. The small size (≈26 nm), renally filtrable molecular weight (3.3 kDa), high renal clearance efficiency (93.1 ± 1.7% excretion through the kidneys within 24 h), outstanding imaging performance, and good biocompatibility, together make AIE-4PEG550 NPs remarkably impressive and far superior to clinical diagnostic assays. The finding in this study would provide a blueprint for the next generation of diagnostic agents for the extent of renal fibrosis.