One-step hydrothermal synthesis of carboxyl-functionalized upconversion phosphors for bioapplications

Facile synthesized NaGdF4 :Yb, Er peanut-shaped, highly biocompatible, colloidal upconversion nanospheres

A facile method was used for the synthesis of peanut-shaped very emissive NaGdF₄ :Yb, Er upconversion nanospheres (UCNSs) at lower temperatures with uniform size distribution. Crystallographic structure, phase purity, morphology, thermal robustness, biocompatibility, colloidal stability, surface chemistry, optical properties, and luminesce properties were explored by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), zeta potential, Thermogravimetric/thermal differential analysis (TGA/DTA), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), UV/visible and photoluminescence spectroscopic tools. XRD pattern verified the construction of a single-phase, highly-crystalline NaGdF₄ phase with a hexagonal structure. Peanut-shaped morphology of the sample was obtained from SEM micrographs which were validated from high-resolution TEM images, have an equatorial diameter of 170-200 nm and a length of 220-230 nm, with irregular size, monodispersed, porous structure, and rough surface of the particles. The positive zeta potential value exhibited good biocompatibility along with high colloidal stability as observed from the absorption spectrum. The prepared UCNSs revealed high dispersibility, irregular size peanut-shaped morphology, rough surface, good colloidal stability, and excellent biocompatibility in aqueous media. A hexagonal phase NaGdF₄ doped with Yb, and Er UCNSs revealed the characteristics of highly dominant emissions located at 520-525, 538-550, and 659-668 nm are corresponding to the ² H_11/2 →⁴ I_15/2 , ⁴ S_3/2 →⁴ I_15/2 , and ⁴ F_9/2 →⁴ I_15/2 transition of Er³⁺ ions, respectively, as a result of energy transfer from sensitizer Yb³⁺ ion to emitter Er³⁺ ion.

Thermally reconfigurable monoclinic nematic colloidal fluids

Fundamental relationships are believed to exist between the symmetries of building blocks and the condensed matter phases that they form¹. For example, constituent molecular and colloidal rods and disks impart their uniaxial symmetry onto nematic liquid crystals, such as those used in displays^1,2. Low-symmetry organizations could form in mixtures of rods and disks^3-5, but entropy tends to phase-separate them at the molecular and colloidal scales, whereas strong elasticity-mediated interactions drive the formation of chains and crystals in nematic colloids^6-11. To have a structure with few or no symmetry operations apart from trivial ones has so far been demonstrated to be a property of solids alone¹, but not of their fully fluid condensed matter counterparts, even though such symmetries have been considered theoretically^12-15 and observed in magnetic colloids¹⁶. Here we show that dispersing highly anisotropic charged colloidal disks in a nematic host composed of molecular rods provides a platform for observing many low-symmetry phases. Depending on the temperature, concentration and surface charge of the disks, we find nematic, smectic and columnar organizations with symmetries ranging from uniaxial^1,2 to orthorhombic^17-21 and monoclinic^12-15. With increasing temperature, we observe unusual transitions from less- to more-ordered states and re-entrant²² phases. Most importantly, we demonstrate the presence of reconfigurable monoclinic colloidal nematic order, as well as the possibility of thermal and magnetic control of low-symmetry self-assembly^2,23,24. Our experimental findings are supported by theoretical modelling of the colloidal interactions between disks in the nematic host and may provide a route towards realizing many low-symmetry condensed matter phases in systems with building blocks of dissimilar shapes and sizes, as well as their technological applications.

A strategy to enhance the up-conversion luminescence of nanospherical, rod-like and tube-like NaYF4: Yb3+, Er3+ (Tm3+) by combining with carbon dots

The luminescence enhanced strategy of combining the material with carbon dots to form CDs@NaYF₄: Yb³⁺, Er³⁺ (Tm³⁺) composites is effective not only for the cubic- and hexagonal-phase materials but also for those with different morphologies.

Facile Fabrication of Upconversion Photoluminescent Transparent Semiaromatic Polyamide Nanocomposites Through Interfacial Chemistry Modification

Transparent upconversion photoluminescent polyamide nanocomposites were fabricated via a facile in situ polycondensation method with interfacial chemistry modification employing polyacrylic acid-functionalized upconversion nanoparticles (UCNP-PAA) as fillers and transparent semiaromatic polyamides (SAPA) as host materials. The as-prepared UCNP-PAA could be dispersed uniformly in the polyamide salt solution and the SAPA chains can be grafted to the UCNP-PAA through condensation reactions. The grafted SAPA ligand on the surface of UCNP increases the compatibility between SAPA and UCNP, thus causing uniform dispersion of the UCNP in the polyamide nanocomposites and improving the transmittance of the polyamide nanocomposites. The obtained polyamide nanocomposites are transparent and show strong green upconversion photoluminescence. This work solved the problem of the dispersity of incorporated nanoparticles and improving the transparency of nanocomposites and, more importantly, endowed the traditional engineering plastic with upconversion photoluminescent properties which can be applied in three-dimensional displays and the related solar cell field in the future.

Electrostatically controlled surface boundary conditions in nematic liquid crystals and colloids

Differing from isotropic fluids, liquid crystals exhibit highly anisotropic interactions with surfaces, which define boundary conditions for the alignment of constituent rod-like molecules at interfaces with colloidal inclusions and confining substrates. We show that surface alignment of the nematic molecules can be controlled by harnessing the competing aligning effects of surface functionalization and electric field arising from surface charging and bulk counterions. The control of ionic content in the bulk and at surfaces allows for tuning orientations of shape-anisotropic particles like platelets within an aligned nematic host and for changing the orientation of director relative to confining substrates. The ensuing anisotropic elastic and electrostatic interactions enable colloidal crystals with reconfigurable symmetries and orientations of inclusions.

Facile Fabrication of Transparent and Upconversion Photoluminescent Nanofiber Mats with Tunable Optical Properties

A facile fabrication strategy of transparent and upconversion photoluminescent nylon 6 (PA6) nanofiber mats was developed based on PA6 nanofiber mats, carboxylic acid-functionalized upconversion nanoparticles (UCNP-COOH), and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) solution. UCNP-COOH were prepared by a solvothermal method, followed by the ligand exchange process. The electrospinning method and the spin-coating process were employed to combine PA6 nanofiber mats with UCNP-COOH and PMMA to introduce upconversion photoluminescent properties and transparency into the nanocomposite mats, respectively. The prepared UCNP-COOH/PA6/PMMA nanofiber mats are transparent and exhibit green emission, which are similar to UCNP-COOH when they were excited under 980 nm laser. The upconversion luminescent intensity of the functional nanofiber mats can be tailored by adjusting the weight fraction of UCNP-COOH as fillers. This facile strategy can be readily used to other types of intriguing nanocomposites for diverse applications.

Current Advances in Lanthanide-Doped Upconversion Nanostructures for Detection and Bioapplication

Along with the development of science and technology, lanthanide-doped upconversion nanostructures as a new type of materials have taken their place in the field of nanomaterials. Upconversion luminescence is a nonlinear optical phenomenon, which absorbs two or more photons and emits one photon. Compared with traditional luminescence materials, upconversion nanostructures have many advantages, such as weak background interference, long lifetime, low excitation energy, and strong tissue penetration. These interesting nanostructures can be applied in anticounterfeit, solar cell, detection, bioimaging, therapy, and so on. This review is focused on the current advances in lanthanide-doped upconversion nanostructures, covering not only basic luminescence mechanism, synthesis, and modification methods but also the design and fabrication of upconversion nanostructures, like core-shell nanoparticles or nanocomposites. At last, this review emphasizes the application of upconversion nanostructure in detection and bioimaging and therapy. Learning more about the advances of upconversion nanostructures can help us better exploit their excellent performance and use them in practice.

Upconversion nanoparticles with a strong acid-resistant capping

Water-dispersible upconversion nanoparticles (β-NaYF4:Yb(3+),Er(3+), UCNP) coated with a thin shell of a biocompatible copolymer comprising 2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate (HEMA) and 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulphonsulphonic acid (AMPS), which we will term COP, have been prepared by multidentate grafting. This capping is remarkably resistant to strong acidic conditions as low as pH 2. The additional functionality of the smart UCNP@COP nanosystem has been proved by its association to a well-known photosensitizer (namely, methylene blue, MB). The green-to-red emission ratio of the UC@COP@MB nanohybrid exhibits excellent linear dependence in the 7 to 2 pH range as a consequence of the release of the dye as the pH decreases.

Simple synthesis of amino acid-functionalized hydrophilic upconversion nanoparticles capped with both carboxyl and amino groups for bimodal imaging

Amino acid-functionalized hydrophilic upconversion nanoparticles capped with both carboxyl and amino groups were one-step synthesized for bimodal imaging.

Hydrophilic and blue fluorescent N-doped carbon dots from tartaric acid and various alkylol amines under microwave irradiation

The desired control of particle size, doping element composition, and surface structure of carbon dots (CDs) are vital for understanding the fluorescence mechanism and exploring their potential applications. Herein, nitrogen-doped CDs (N-doped CDs) have been synthesized with tartaric acid and various alkylol amines (monoethanolamine, biethanolamine and triethanolamine) under microwave irradiation. A systematic investigation was performed to characterize the N-doped CDs. It is found that with increasing nitrogen proportion, the fluorescent quantum yield and lifetime of N-doped CDs increases, whereas cell toxicity decreases. In other words, N-doped CDs synthesized by tartaric acid and monoethanolamine have the highest nitrogen content, the highest fluorescent quantum yield, the longest lifetime and the lowest cell toxicity. A corresponding mechanism has been proposed. Moreover, as-synthesized N-doped CDs have been applied for selectively detecting the Fe(3+) ion and writing letters as a fluorescent ink.

The synthesis and mechanism exploration of europium-doped LiYF4 micro-octahedron phosphors with multilevel interiors

Multi-layered hollow LiYF4:Eu(3+) micro-octahedrons, with about 400 nm of single-layer thickness and 300 nm of interlayer space, have been synthesized via a facile hydrothermal route in the presence of surfactant ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA). The mechanisms of the morphology evolution of the LiYF4:Eu micro-octahedrons are investigated in detail. Time-dependent experiments indicate that the growth of the micro-octahedrons undergoes four different stages including the aggregation growth of the primary YF3 particle, the transformation of the substance from the orthorhombic-phase YF3 to the tetragonal-phase LiYF4 by the Kirkendall effect with the inward diffusion of quasi-steady state LiF species, adsorption and in situ crystallization, and local Ostwald ripening. The Ostwald ripening process is terminated by the organic adsorption of interlaminar leading to a hollow structure with multilevel interiors. The LiYF4:Eu micro-octahedrons are annealed under the designed temperatures, which leads to the collapse of octahedral structures indicating the role of EDTA on building the octahedron. The spectral measurements show that the calcination approach has a stronger effect on the luminescence tuning of the LiYF4:Eu micro-octahedrons due to the modification of the crystal phase, structure and size. The present study is of great importance in the preparation of rare-earth ion doped LiYF4 hollow materials as well as in applications as building blocks for functional devices.

Turn-on detection of a cancer marker based on near-infrared luminescence energy transfer from NaYF4:Yb,Tm/NaGdF4 core-shell upconverting nanoparticles to gold nanorods

A homogeneous immunoassay for the sensitive and selective determination of trace amounts of α-fetoprotein (AFP, a cancer marker) by detection in the near-infrared (NIR) region based on luminescence energy transfer (LET) from NaYF4:Yb,Tm/NaGdF4 core-shell upconverting nanoparticles to gold nanorods (GNRs) is presented. The carboxyl-functionalized NaYF4:Yb,Tm/NaGdF4 core-shell upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) were excited by a 980 nm continuous wavelength laser, and its emission peak appeared at a near-infrared wavelength (∼804 nm). The carboxyl-functionalized upconverting nanoparticles were conjugated with the anti-AFP (Ab1) and acted as donor. GNRs with a high absorption band around 790 nm, which was overlapped the UCNPs emission, were synthesized and acted as the acceptor. The donor (negatively charged) interacted with the acceptor (positively charged) via electrostatic interactions to bring them into close proximity. LET could occur, producing a quenching phenomenon. When the AFP antigens were added into the system, the binding affinity between AFP and Ab1 was stronger than the electrostatic interactions, which released the energy acceptors from the energy donors, interrupting luminescence energy transfer, and therefore, the luminescence was recovered. On the basis of the restored luminescence, a turn-on optical immunosening system was developed. Under the optimal conditions, the linear range of detection was from 0.18 to 11.44 ng/mL for AFP (R = 0.99), with a detection limit as low as 0.16 ng/mL. The proposed method has also been used to monitor AFP in human serum samples. Therefore, further study based on the NaYF4:Yb,Tm/NaGdF4 core-shell nanoparticles-GNRs construction may open the way for a new class of NIR-LET biosensors with wide applications.

An upconversion nanoparticle with orthogonal emissions using dual NIR excitations for controlled two-way photoswitching

Developing multicolor upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) with the capability of regulating their emission wavelengths in the UV to visible range in response to external stimuli can offer more dynamic platforms for applications in high-resolution bioimaging, multicolor barcoding, and driving multiple important photochemical reactions, such as photoswitching. Here, we have rationally designed single-crystal core-shell-structured UCNPs which are capable of orthogonal UV and visible emissions in response to two distinct NIR excitations at 808 and 980 nm. The orthogonal excitation-emission properties of such UCNPs, as well as their ability to utilize low-power excitation, which attenuates any local heating from the lasers, endows the UCNPs with great potential for applications in materials and biological settings. As a proof of concept, the use of this UCNP for the efficient regulation of the two-way photoswitching of spiropyran by using dual wavelengths of NIR irradiation has been demonstrated.

Highly biocompatible zwitterionic phospholipids coated upconversion nanoparticles for efficient bioimaging

The potential of upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) in various biomedical applications, including immunoassays, biomedical imaging, and molecular sensing, requires their surface derivatized to be hydrophilic and biocompatible. Here, a new family of compact zwitterionic ligand systems composed with functional phospholipids was designed and used for the surface modification of UCNPs. The zwitterionic UCNPs are hydrophilic, compact, and easily functionalized. It was proved that zwitterionic phospholipids could provide UCNPs with not only extended pH and salt stability but also little nonspecific interactions to positively and negatively charged proteins, low nonspecific adhesion in live-cell imaging process. Most notably, the efficient in vivo tumor imaging performance and long blood circulation half-life suggests the excellent biocompatibility for in vivo imaging of the zwitterionic UCNPs.

Recent advances in lanthanide-doped upconversion nanomaterials: synthesis, nanostructures and surface modification

Owing to their unique photo-physical properties, rare-earth ions-doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) have attracted extensive attention in recent years. UCNPs have many special merits, such as a long luminescence lifetime, narrow emission band widths, high quantum yields and low toxicity, which allows their potential applications in bio-medical field, biological luminescent labels and drug delivery carriers. Compared with traditional fluorescence labels exited by UV (ultraviolet), such as organic dyes and quantum dots, UCNPs can transfer near-infrared (NIR) light into visible light, which is commonly called upconversion luminescence (UCL). This paper reviews the recent advances of several typical synthesis methods of UCNPs in detail as well as the fabrication and optimization of the particle morphology, and the latest advances of UCNPs for multimode imaging, surface passivation and functionalization are also described.

Formation of bundle-shaped β-NaYF4 upconversion microtubes via Ostwald ripening

In this work, the uniform bundle-shaped microtubes composed of six half-pipes are synthesized for the first time in hydrothermal solutions via an intentional delayed phase transition pathway induced by Mn(2+) doping. The structural and kinetic factors that govern the phase and shape evolution of NaYF4 microcrystals have been carefully studied, and the influences of Mn(2+) to RE(3+) ratio, the amount of trisodium citrate, and the pH value in conjunction with the intrinsic character of RE(3+) ions on the phase and shape evolution are systematically discussed. It is found that the proper Mn(2+) to RE(3+) ratio is mainly responsible for delayed phase transition process and induces interior density gradient of solid aggregate for creating hollow bundle-shaped microtubes. While the amount of trisodium citrate and the pH value are the keys for the shape control of the NaYF4 microcrystals such as prismatic microtubes, prismatic short rods, thin plates, and particles. The up and downconversion emissions were obtained independent of whether α- or β-NaYF4:Er(3+)/Yb(3+) samples doped with Mn(2+), but the significant tuning of output color was only obtained in cube NaYF4 nanoparticles rather than in hexagonal microtubes via adjusting the amount of Mn(2+) ions. These spectral measurements and EDX analyses indicate that the distribution or concentration of Mn(2+) in hexagonal phase solid solution has changed, which supports Ostwald ripening growth mechanism and rules out agglomeration or oriented attachment growth mechanism. We designed crystal growth mode by simply addition of dopant may provide a versatile approach for fabricating a wide range of hollow nano/microcrystals and thus bring us a clearer understanding on the interaction between the dopant reagents and the nano/microcrystals.

The effect of surface coating on energy migration-mediated upconversion

Lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticles have been the focus of a growing body of investigation because of their promising applications ranging from data storage to biological imaging and drug delivery. Here we present the rational design, synthesis, and characterization of a new class of core-shell upconversion nanoparticles displaying unprecedented optical properties. Specifically, we show that the epitaxial growth of an optically inert NaYF(4) layer around a lanthanide-doped NaGdF(4)@NaGdF(4) core-shell nanoparticle effectively prevents surface quenching of excitation energy. At room temperature, the energy migrates over Gd sublattices and is adequately trapped by the activator ions embedded in host lattices. Importantly, the NaYF(4) shell-coating strategy gives access to tunable upconversion emissions from a variety of activators (Dy(3+), Sm(3+), Tb(3+), and Eu(3+)) doped at very low concentrations (down to 1 mol %). Our mechanistic investigations make possible, for the first time, the realization of efficient emissions from Tb(3+) and Eu(3+) activators that are doped homogeneously with Yb(3+)/Tm(3+) ions. The advances on these luminescent nanomaterials offer exciting opportunities for important biological and energy applications.