Issue 12, 2021

Er3+ self-sensitized nanoprobes with enhanced 1525 nm downshifting emission for NIR-IIb in vivo bio-imaging

Abstract

Traditional sensitizer (Yb3+ or Nd3+) and activator (Er3+) co-doped lanthanide-based nanoprobes possessing emission of Er3+ at 1525 nm have attracted much attention in NIR-IIb bio-imaging. However, the 1525 nm fluorescence efficiency was not high enough in such co-doped systems due to the serious back energy transfer from the activator to the sensitizer, resulting in a lot of excitation energy loss. Herein, we have designed an efficient NIR-IIb nanoprobe Er3+ self-sensitized NaErF4:0.5%Tm3+@NaLuF4, where substantially all the excitation energy could contribute to Er3+ ions and most energy transfer processes were confined among Er3+ ions, avoiding the energy dissipation by heterogeneous sensitizer ions. The influence of the types of epitaxial heterogeneous shells, the doping effect and optimal doping concentration of Tm3+ ions, as well as the critical shell thickness for obtaining the surface quenching-assisted downshifting emission are systematically investigated to acquire the most efficient 1525 nm luminescence under 800 nm excitation. The quantum yield in the 1500–1700 nm region reached 13.92%, enabling high-resolution through-skull cerebrovascular microscopy imaging and large-depth in vivo physiological dynamic imaging with an extremely low excitation powder density of 35 mW cm−2. The designed nanoprobe can be potentially used for brain science research and clinical diagnosis.

Graphical abstract: Er3+ self-sensitized nanoprobes with enhanced 1525 nm downshifting emission for NIR-IIb in vivo bio-imaging

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
23 Nov 2020
Accepted
27 Jan 2021
First published
28 Jan 2021

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2021,9, 2899-2908

Er3+ self-sensitized nanoprobes with enhanced 1525 nm downshifting emission for NIR-IIb in vivo bio-imaging

W. Wang, Z. Feng, B. Li, Y. Chang, X. Li, X. Yan, R. Chen, X. Yu, H. Zhao, G. Lu, X. Kong, J. Qian and X. Liu, J. Mater. Chem. B, 2021, 9, 2899 DOI: 10.1039/D0TB02728F

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