Polymeric nanorods with aggregation-induced emission characteristics for enhanced cancer targeting and imagingElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c7nr09196f

Polymeric nanorods loaded with AIEgens are synthesized via nano-precipitation under ultrasound sonication, where prolonged sonication time could induce a nanodot-to-nanorod transition. These AIE nanorods, but not the nanodots, could be selectively internalized into cancer cells, which show better tumor accumulation, higher tumor penetration and more efficient in vivo cancer cell uptake. Bright polymeric AIE nanorods with higher tumor accumulation and more efficient tumor cell uptake are reported for enhanced cancer imaging.