Issue 26, 2023

Optimized core–shell lanthanide nanoparticles with ultrabright Ce3+-modulated second near-infrared emission for “lighting” plants

Abstract

Second near-infrared (NIR-II, 1000–1700 nm) photon-mediated fluorescence imaging has attracted extensive interest in the field of bioimaging. However, NIR-II fluorescent nanoprobes competent for plant imaging have been rarely developed. Herein, lanthanide-doped nanoparticle (LDNP) optimal core–shell structure and ultrabright NIR-II emission were developed for “lighting” plants. The Ce3+-doped active shell coated on the NaErF4:Tm core enables dual-mode red upconversion (UC) and NIR-II downconversion (DC) emission of LDNPs upon 980 nm laser excitation. Under the optimized doping content, the intensities of red UC and NIR-II DC emission were respectively boosted by 5- and 19-fold those of the core nanoparticles, which endowed LDNPs with ideal NIR-II emissive capabilities for optical imaging of plants. Significantly, the NIR-II fluorescent signal affords much higher signal-to-noise rate than the red UC. LDNPs were modified with polyethyleneimine to enable outstanding hydrophilicty and facilitate their uptake by plants. Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana benthamiana were chosen as plant models for NIR-II imaging studies. The toxic effect of LDNPs after being transported into Brassica rapa chinensis was systematically studied on mice. The NIR-II imaging strategy offers a promising method for studying the uptake and transport of nanoparticles in plants.

Graphical abstract: Optimized core–shell lanthanide nanoparticles with ultrabright Ce3+-modulated second near-infrared emission for “lighting” plants

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
28 Apr. 2023
Accepted
10 Jūn. 2023
First published
12 Jūn. 2023

Nanoscale, 2023,15, 11026-11037

Optimized core–shell lanthanide nanoparticles with ultrabright Ce3+-modulated second near-infrared emission for “lighting” plants

J. Wang, C. Li, Y. Cui, Q. Wang, J. Ye, J. Yang, Z. Liu, S. Zhang, Y. Fu and J. Xu, Nanoscale, 2023, 15, 11026 DOI: 10.1039/D3NR01970E

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