Orally Administrable Aggregation-induced Emission-based Bionic Probe for Imaging and Ameliorating Dextran Sulfate Sodium-induced Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.

As macrophage infiltration is significantly related to the progression of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), monitoring the macrophages is a valuable strategy for IBD diagnosis. However, owing to the harsh physiological environment of the gastrointestinal tract and enzymatic degradation, the development of orally administrable imaging probes for tracking macrophages remains a considerable challenge. Accordingly, herein, we have developed an orally administrable aggregation-induced emission biomimetic probe (HBTTPIP/β-glucan particles (GPs)) for tracing macrophages; HBTTPIP/GPs can diagnose and alleviate dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colonic inflammation and self-report the treatment efficiency. The fluorophore HBTTPIP can effectively aggregate in GPs, restricting intramolecular rotation and activating the fluorescence of HBTTPIP. After being orally administrated, HBTTPIP/GPs is phagocytosed by intestinal macrophages, which then migrate to colonic lesions, enabling non-invasive monitoring of the severity of IBD via in vivo fluorescence imaging. Notably, oral HBTTPIP/GPs ameliorates DSS-induced IBD by inhibiting the expressions of pro-inflammatory factors and improving colonic mucosal barrier function. Furthermore, these HBTTPIP/GPs have realized self-feedback the therapeutic effects of GPs on DSS-induced colitis. The oral biomimetic probe HBTTPIP/GPs reported herein provides a novel theranostic platform for IBD, integrating non-invasive diagnosis of IBD in situ and the corresponding treatment. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.