Facile synthesis of 5 nm NaYF₄:Yb/Er nanoparticles for targeted upconversion imaging of cancer cells.

5nm intense green emission NaYF4:Yb/Er upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) with pure β phase was synthesized with a simple "green" strategy for the first time. Traditional organic solvothermal method is often applied to prepare the high-quality and uniform UCNPs, but the preparation of lanthanide-oleate complexes is laborious as heating and multistep post-treatment for purification are often required. The water-alcohols solvothermal method is environmentally friendly, but the fabricated UCNPs have big size, poor biocompatibility and high cytotoxicity, which limited their application for cell imaging. Herein, NaYF4:Yb/Er UCNPs were prepared with rare-earth nitrates RE(NO3)3 (RE=Y0.80 Yb0.18 Er0.02) as precursors and diethylene glycol (DEG)/ethylene glycol (EG)/water as the solvent. A facile green solvothermal method with the temperature being controlled at 300°C was developed. The as-prepared NaYF4:Yb/Er UCNPs were characterized and were found to have enhanced UC emission and controllable particle size. The as-prepared UCNPs were further functionalized via folic acid coating for the targeted imaging and improved bio- compatibility. It was made the UCNPs potential for upconversion bioimaging of living cells by the strong upconversion luminescence, the excellent biocompatibility, and the super-small size. The good colloidal stability and low cell cytotoxicity of the as-prepared UCNPs and the developed synthesis protocol might advance both the fields of UCNPs and biomolecule-based nanotechnology for future studies.

Hu Y ，Wu B ，Jin Q ，Wang X ，Li Y ，Sun Y ，Huo J ，Zhao X ... -  《-》

Synthesis of NIR-Responsive NaYF₄:Yb,Er Upconversion Fluorescent Nanoparticles Using an Optimized Solvothermal Method and Their Applications in Enhanced Development of Latent Fingerprints on Various Smooth Substrates.

Wang M ，Zhu Y ，Mao C 《-》

Controlled synthesis of NaYF4 nanoparticles and upconversion properties of NaYF4:Yb, Er (Tm)/FC transparent nanocomposite thin films.

Monodisperse oleic acid stabilized pure NaYF(4) nanoparticles with controlled size and shape have been successfully synthesized by changing the initial reaction temperature. Transparent nanocomposite thin films consisting of NaYF(4):Yb, Er (Tm) upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) and fluorocarbon resin (FC) are deposited on the slide glass by dip-coating method. The results show that these nanocomposite thin films exhibit intense green and blue upconversion photoluminescence under 980 nm laser excitation and higher transparency than blank substrate. The NaYF(4):Yb,Er (Tm) nanoparticles and NaYF(4):Yb,Er (Tm)/FC nanocomposite thin films have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), SEM/back-scattered electron (BSE), atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV-Vis spectrophotometer (UVPC), and photoluminescence (PL) spectra. These nanocomposite thin films can be potentially used in solar cells field.

Huang W ，Lu C ，Jiang C ，Wang W ，Song J ，Ni Y ，Xu Z ... -  《-》

Biodistribution of sub-10 nm PEG-modified radioactive/upconversion nanoparticles.

The biodistribution of lanthanide-based upconversion nanophosphors (UCNPs) has attracted increasing attention, and all of the reported UCNPs display metabolism in the liver and spleen mainly. Herein, ∼8 nm poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-coated NaYF4 nanoparticles codoped with Yb(3+), Er(3+), and (or) radioactive (153)Sm(3+) ions were synthesized, through a hydrothermal synthetic system assisted by binary cooperative ligands with oleic acid and PEG dicarboxylic acids. The as-prepared PEG-coating NaYF4:Yb,Er and NaYF4:Yb,Er,(153)Sm are denoted as PEG-UCNPs and PEG-UCNPs((153)Sm), respectively. PEG-UCNPs were characterized by transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The PEG-UCNPs showed excellent water solubility with a hydrodynamic diameter of ∼10 nm and displayed upconversion luminescence (UCL) under continuous-wave excitation at 980 nm. At the same time, the (153)Sm-doped nanoparticles PEG-UCNPs((153)Sm) displayed radioactivity, and time-dependent biodistribution of PEG-UCNPs((153)Sm) was investigated, through single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging and γ-counter analysis. Interestingly, PEG-UCNPs((153)Sm) had a long blood retention time and were partly eliminated through urinary pathways in vivo. Therefore, the concept of fabricating PEG-coated, small nanosize (sub-10 nm) nanoparticles with radioactive property is a useful strategy for providing a potential method to monitor lanthanide nanoparticles renal clearable.

Cao T ，Yang Y ，Sun Y ，Wu Y ，Gao Y ，Feng W ，Li F ... -  《-》

A single-step synthesis and the kinetic mechanism for monodisperse and hexagonal-phase NaYF4:Yb, Er upconversion nanophosphors.

Shan J ，Ju Y 《-》