One Pot Strategy for NIR-II Emissive AIE active Iridium (III) Redox Catalyst towards Photoinduced ROS Generation, NADH Oxidation, and GSH Depletion: A Way Forward in Phototherapy

Development of NIR-II emissive AIE-active low-molecular-weight phototheranostic agents for diagnostic imaging and cancer treatment is of paramount importance. Herein, we developed an NIR-II emissive AIE-active Ir(III) complex, “A2,” via a one-pot synthetic strategy in just 8 hours. In cell free study, under 630 nm light irradiation, A2 showed NADH-oxidation ability in normoxic and hypoxic conditions via both Type I and Type II ROS generation and Cytochrome c reduction. Also, A2 reduces ferroptosis initiators, including GSH depletion, cysteine levels reduction, NADPH oxidation and H2O2 generation. Overall, this work presents a novel synthetic approach for next-generation NIR-II emissive Ir (III) metal complexes for phototherapeutic cancer treatment.