Issue 26, 2017

Dynamically tuning near-infrared-induced photothermal performances of TiO2 nanocrystals by Nb doping for imaging-guided photothermal therapy of tumors

Abstract

Conventional wide bandgap semiconductors can absorb UV/visible light but have no photoabsorption band in the near-infrared (NIR) region, leading to difficulty in their use as NIR-responsive agents. With TiO2 as an example, we report the tuning from UV-responsive TiO2 nanocrystals to blue TiO2 nanocrystals with newly appeared NIR absorption band through the Nb-doping strategy. A strong NIR band should result from the localized surface plasmon resonances due to the considerable free electrons originating from the efficient incorporation of Nb5+ ions (<15.5%). Interestingly, under the irradiation of a 1064 nm laser, Nb-doped TiO2 nanocrystals can convert laser energy into heat, and higher Nb-doping content can lead to higher NIR-induced temperature elevation, highlighting that the photothermal performances of TiO2 nanocrystals can be dynamically modulated by adjusting the Nb-doping levels. After coating with PEGylated phospholipid, the resulting nanocrystals display water dispersibility, high photothermal conversion efficiency and cytocompatibility. Therefore, these Nb-doped TiO2 nanocrystals can be used as efficient and heavy-metal-free nanoagents for the simultaneous NIR/photoacoustic imaging and photothermal therapy of tumors using a 1064 nm laser in the second biological window.

Graphical abstract: Dynamically tuning near-infrared-induced photothermal performances of TiO2 nanocrystals by Nb doping for imaging-guided photothermal therapy of tumors

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
28 Mar 2017
Accepted
07 Jun 2017
First published
09 Jun 2017

Nanoscale, 2017,9, 9148-9159

Dynamically tuning near-infrared-induced photothermal performances of TiO2 nanocrystals by Nb doping for imaging-guided photothermal therapy of tumors

N. Yu, Y. Hu, X. Wang, G. Liu, Z. Wang, Z. Liu, Q. Tian, M. Zhu, X. Shi and Z. Chen, Nanoscale, 2017, 9, 9148 DOI: 10.1039/C7NR02180A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements