Fig. 2: Advantages of AIE₁₀₃₅NPs@Mo/Cu-POM nanosensors in imaging performance.

a Chemical structures of five AIE molecules and their optical responses. b, c Normalized absorption (b) and normalized fluorescence spectra (c) of the five molecules encapsulated in polystyrene nanospheres. d Fluorescence spectra of five AIENPs before and after assembly with Mo/Cu-POM and their response to 100 μM H₂O₂. e Schematic illustration of the investigation of deep penetration in pepper leaves. Created in BioRender. Hu, H. (2025) https://BioRender.com/6lm4x2yf Fluorescence images of AIENPs-filled 96-well plates through stacked pepper leaves in different detection windows. Leaf penetration experiments for AIE₄₇₅NPs, AIE₅₂₀NPs, and AIE₇₁₂NPs were conducted using an IVIS Spectrum platform, while experiments for AIE₉₅₅NPs and AIE₁₀₃₅NPs were performed on a home-built NIR imaging system. g Corresponding normalized fluorescence intensity of the five AIENPs with stacked pepper leaves in (f). h Photostability evaluation of the AIE₁₀₃₅NPs dispersion and ICG solutions under constant laser beam exposure for 60 min. Laser excitation: 808 nm, 100 mW. i NIR images of AIE₁₀₃₅NPs and ICG in MES buffer at various concentrations, using an 808 nm laser as the excitation source at 15 mW. Filters: 850 nm long-pass filter (left) and 1000 nm long-pass filter (right). j Quantitative analysis of NIR fluorescence intensity for AIE₁₀₃₅NPs and ICG at different concentrations as shown in (i). Data are presented as mean ± s.d. from three independent measurements.