Citation: Yumei Wu, Zhengjun Chen, Yuan Shen, Deying Tang, Huaiyu Mo, Zihan Chen, Hongyu Li, Zhe Zheng, Chunju Li, Jie Gao, Zeli Yuan. Water-soluble thiazolo[5,4-d]thiazole-based AIEgens for universal and Level 3 resolved latent fingerprint visualization[J]. Chinese Chemical Letters, ;2026, 37(9): 111889. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2025.111889 shu

Water-soluble thiazolo[5,4-d]thiazole-based AIEgens for universal and Level 3 resolved latent fingerprint visualization

Yumei Wu ^a ,
Zhengjun Chen ^a ,
Yuan Shen ^a ,
Deying Tang ^a ,
Huaiyu Mo ^a ,
Zihan Chen ^a ,
Hongyu Li ^a ,
Zhe Zheng ^{b, *,} ,
Chunju Li ^{b, c} ,
Jie Gao ^{a, *,} ,
Zeli Yuan ^{a, *,}

a.
School of Pharmacy, Key Laboratory of Basic Pharmacology of Ministry of Education and Joint International Research Laboratory of Ethnomedicine of Ministry of Education, Guizhou International Science & Technology Cooperation Base of Medical Optical Theranostics Research, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi 563003, China
b.
College of Chemistry, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Structure and Performance for Functional Molecules, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China
c.
Academy of Interdisciplinary Studies on Intelligent Molecules, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China

zhezheng@tjnu.edu.cn

jiegao@zmu.edu.cn

zlyuan@zmu.edu.cn

Received Date: 12 June 2025
Revised Date: 22 September 2025
Accepted Date: 23 September 2025
Available Online: 24 September 2025

Figures(4)

Latent fingerprints (LFPs) serve as indispensable forensic evidence, yet achieving visualization to Level 3 detail, crucial for conclusive identification, remains highly challenging due to poor contrast, substrate limitations, operational toxicity, and aggregation-caused quenching of classic methods. Here, we present a water-soluble thiazolo[5,4-d]thiazole (TzTz)-based aggregation-induced emission (AIE) luminogen, TPA-TzTz-OH, rationally designed to address these issues. This probe, integrating triphenylamine electron donors, a TzTz π-bridge, and a pyridinium acceptor, enables a distinctive fluorescence "off−on" switch upon visible light (425 nm) excitation, visualizing LFPs within 40 s, completely avoiding organic solvents or post-processing. TPA-TzTz-OH offers broad substrate compatibility, producing high-contrast, high-fidelity fingerprint images on metals, glass, plastics, ceramics, and wood, consistently resolving sweat pores and ridge microstructures (Level 3 features) essential for individualization. Mechanistic studies indicate that restricted intramolecular motion upon specific binding to fingerprint lipids (oleic acid and cholesterol) triggers pronounced AIE enhancement, with electrostatic and hydrogen-bonding interactions enabling specificity. The probe exhibits excellent biocompatibility (>85% cell viability at working concentration), retains efficacy for aged fingerprints (≥10 days), and can be used via immersion or spraying. Comparison with control derivatives confirms the synergistic importance of both the pyridinium charge and hydroxyl group in realizing these unique advantages. This work establishes TPA-TzTz-OH as a promising, sustainable solution for high-resolution forensic visualization, bridging fundamental AIE photophysics and real-world criminalistics while providing a greener and safer technique over conventional methods.
- Latent fingerprints,
- Aggregation-induced emission,
- Thiazolo[5,4-d]thiazole,
- Level 3 visualization,
- Fluorescence
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