As the last resort and one of the most crucial antibiotics for multidrug-resistant bacteria, carbapenem is considered the best hope for treating bacterial infections. However, the prompt emergence of carbapenemase-producing bacteria (CPB) poses a striking global health threat. Thus, accurate and rapid methods for the detection of carbapenemase are being requested to guide precise diagnosis, appropriate treatment strategies, and antibiotic stewardship. Although genotypic, phenotypic, and biochemical methods are currently used in clinical practice for CPB detection, they each have their problems that cannot commendably meet the need. In recent years, small-molecule probes have made significant progress and breakthroughs in the rapid detection and subtyping of CPB, providing insights and innovative solutions for the ultra-sensitive detection of CPB. In this minireview, some of the advances, namely, chromogenic probes and methods, fluorogenic probes, dual fluorogenic–chromogenic probes, a chemiluminescent probe, and a novel label-free intracellular calorimetric approach, are summarized, appreciated, and discussed. These methods offer high sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy in a short period in clinical settings without the utilization of sophisticated equipment or professional personnel. We hope that this minireview can provide a reference for the development of rapid detection of CPB and eventually contribute to antibiotic resistance management.

Background: Activated hepatic stellate cells (aHSCs) play a significant role during the onset of hepatic fibrosis, ultimately leading to excessive deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) and other typical pathological features, and thus have become a popular target for the treatment of hepatic fibrosis. However, current aHSC-centric therapy strategies achieve unsatisfactory results, mainly due to the lack of approved anti-fibrosis drugs and sufficiently efficient aHSC-targeted delivery systems. In this study, our aim was to develop an Imatinib-loaded nanoparticle delivery system based on a chondroitin sulfate derivative to enhance aHSC targeting efficiency, improve the therapeutic effect for hepatic fibrosis, and investigate the underlying mechanism. Methods: The carboxyl group of chondroitin sulfate and the amino group of 1-hexadecylamine were linked by an amide bond in this study to produce the amphiphilic carrier CS-HDA. Then, the Imatinib-loaded nanoparticles (IM-CS NPs) were designed to efficiently target aHSCs through CD44-mediated endocytosis and effectively inhibit HSC overactivation via PDGF and TGF-β signaling pathways. Results: Both in vitro cellular uptake experiments and in vivo distribution experiments demonstrated that CS-HDA-modified nanoparticles (IM-CS NPs) exhibited a better targeting ability for aHSCs, which were subsequently utilized to treat carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatic fibrosis mouse models. Finally, significant fibrosis resolution was observed in the carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatic fibrosis mouse models after tail vein injection of the IM-CS NPs, along with their outstanding biocompatibility and biological safety. Conclusions: IM-loaded NPs based on an amphiphilic CS derivative have remarkable antifibrotic effects, providing a promising avenue for the clinical treatment of advanced hepatic fibrosis.

Accurate and early diagnosis remains a key challenge in modern disease management. Conventional diagnostic methods often suffer from limitations in sensitivity, spatial resolution, and practical usability. Aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) luminogens (AIEgens) have emerged as a revolutionary material platform that effectively overcomes the aggregation‐caused quenching (ACQ) effect plaguing traditional fluorophores. Their unique AIE property endows them with exceptional attributes for diagnostic applications, including superior photostability, high signal‐to‐noise ratios and large Stokes shifts. In this review, we present a thorough and structured overview of recent progress in AIEgen‐based diagnostic strategies. The content is organized according to major disease categories: cancers, infectious diseases, neurological disorders, urinary system diseases and circulatory system diseases. For each category, we analyzed the design principles, sensing mechanisms, and analytical performance of AIE probes targeting diverse biomarkers such as proteins, nucleic acids, metabolites, and pathogens. We further discussed how AIEgens have been effectively integrated into point‐of‐care testing (POCT) platforms and portable devices, highlighting their potential for clinical translation. Finally, the promising future directions are outlined, such as the convergence of AIE technology with artificial intelligence for molecular design. This review aims to serve as a foundational reference and to inspire the rational design of next‐generation, AIEgen‐powered diagnostic technologies tailored to precision medicine.

Multidrug resistance (MDR) bacteria pose a serious threat to human health. The development of alternative treatment modalities and therapeutic agents for treating MDR bacteria-caused infections remains a global challenge. Herein, we rationally designed and successfully developed a series of near-infrared (NIR) anion-π+ photosensitizers featuring aggregation-induced emission (AIE-PSs) for broad-spectrum MDR bacteria eradication. Due to the strong intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) and enhanced highly efficient intersystem crossing (ISC), these electron-rich anion-π+ AIE-PSs showed boosted type I reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation capability involving hydroxyl radicals and superoxide anion radicals, and up to 99% photodynamic killing efficacy was achieved for both Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and multi-drug resistant Escherichia coli (MDR E.coli) under a low dose white light irradiation (16 mW cm-2). In vivo experiments confirmed that one of these AIE-PSs exhibited excellent therapeutic performance in curing MRSA or MDR E.coli-infected wounds with negligible side-effects. The study would thus provide useful guidance for the rational design of high-performance type I AIE-PSs to overcome antibiotic resistance.