Issue 20, 2018

Intense near-infrared-II luminescence from NaCeF4:Er/Yb nanoprobes for in vitro bioassay and in vivo bioimaging

Abstract

Near-infrared (NIR) II luminescence between 1000 and 1700 nm has attracted reviving interest for biosensing due to its unique advantages such as deep-tissue penetration and high spatial resolution. Traditional NIR-II probes such as organic fluorophores usually suffer from poor photostability and potential long-term toxicity. Herein, we report the controlled synthesis of monodisperse NaCeF4:Er/Yb nanocrystals (NCs) that exhibit intense NIR-II emission upon excitation at 980 nm. Ce3+ in the host lattice was found to enhance the luminescence of Er3+ at 1530 nm with a maximum NIR-II quantum yield of 32.8%, which is the highest among Er3+-activated nanoprobes. Particularly, by utilizing the intense NIR-II emission of NaCeF4:Er/Yb NCs, we demonstrated their application as sensitive homogeneous bioprobes to detect uric acid with the limit of detection down to 25.6 nM. Furthermore, the probe was detectable in tissues at depths of up to 10 mm, which enabled in vivo imaging of mouse organs and hindlimbs with high resolution, thus revealing the great potential of these NaCeF4:Er/Yb nanoprobes in deep-tissue diagnosis.

Graphical abstract: Intense near-infrared-II luminescence from NaCeF4:Er/Yb nanoprobes for in vitro bioassay and in vivo bioimaging

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
26 févr. 2018
Accepted
23 avr. 2018
First published
01 mai 2018
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2018,9, 4682-4688

Intense near-infrared-II luminescence from NaCeF4:Er/Yb nanoprobes for in vitro bioassay and in vivo bioimaging

X. Lei, R. Li, D. Tu, X. Shang, Y. Liu, W. You, C. Sun, F. Zhang and X. Chen, Chem. Sci., 2018, 9, 4682 DOI: 10.1039/C8SC00927A

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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