Photophysical Properties of a Novel Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Material: Eu(III)-β-Diketone Complex Covalently Bonded to SiO2/ZnO Composite Matrix

Red-Emitting Hybrid Based on Eu3+-dbm Complex Anchored on Silica Nanoparticles Surface by Carboxylic Acid for Biomarker Application

Luminescent organic-inorganic hybrids containing lanthanides (Ln³⁺) have been prominent for applications such as luminescent bio-probes in biological assays. In this sense, a luminescent hybrid based on dense silica (SiO₂) nanospheres decorated with Eu³⁺ β-diketonate complexes using dibenzoylmethane (Hdbm) as a luminescent antenna was developed by using a hierarchical organization in four steps: (i) anchoring of 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) organosilane on the SiO₂ surface, (ii) formation of a carboxylic acid ligand, (iii) coordination of Eu³⁺ to the carboxylate groups and (iv) coordination of dbm^- to Eu³⁺. The hybrid structure was elucidated through the correlation of thermogravimetry, silicon nuclear magnetic resonance and photoluminescence. Results indicate that the carboxylic acid-Eu³⁺-dbm hybrid was formed on the surface of the particles with no detectable changes on their size or shape after all the four steps (average size of 32 ± 7 nm). A surface charge of -27.8 mV was achieved for the hybrid, assuring a stable suspension in aqueous media. The Eu³⁺ complex provides intense red luminescence, characteristic of Eu³⁺⁵D₀→⁷F_J electronic transitions, with an intrinsic emission quantum yield of 38%, even in an aqueous suspension. Therefore, the correlation of luminescence, structure, particle morphology and fluorescence microscopy images make the hybrid promising for application in bioimaging.

Development of poly-2-ethyl-2-oxazoline coated gold-core silica shell nanorods for cancer chemo-photothermal therapy

Aim: Develop a new poly-2-ethyl-2-oxazoline (PEOZ)-based coating for doxorubicin-loaded gold-core mesoporous silica shell (AuMSS) nanorods application in cancer chemo-photothermal therapy. Methods: PEOZ functionalized AuMSS nanorods were obtained through the chemical grafting on AuMSS of a PEOZ silane derivative. Results: The PEOZ chemical grafting on the surface of AuMSS nanorods allowed the neutralization of nanodevices’ surface charge, from -30 to -15 mV, which improved nanoparticles’ biocompatibility, namely by decreasing the blood hemolysis to negligible levels. In vitro antitumoral studies revealed that the combined treatment mediated by the PEOZ-coated AuMSS nanorods result in a synergistic effect, allowing the complete eradication of cervical cancer cells. Conclusion: The application of the PEOZ coating improves the AuMSS nanorods performance as a multifunctional combinatorial therapy for cervical cancer.

Multifunctional nanomesoporous materials with upconversion (in vivo) and downconversion (in vitro) luminescence imaging based on mesoporous capping UCNPs and linking lanthanide complexes

A series of new multifunctional nanomesoporous materials based on upconversion nanophosphors NaYF4:Yb,Tm@NaGdF4 (UCNPs) and lanthanide complexes were designed and synthesized through mesoporous capping UCNPs nanophosphors and linking lanthanide (Ln) complexes. The obtained UCNPs@mSiO2-Ln(dbm)4 (Ln = Eu, Sm, Er, Nd, Yb) materials can achieve downconversion and upconversion luminescence to show multicolor emission (covering the spectral region from 450 nm to 1700 nm) under visible-light excitation and 980 nm excitation, respectively. In addition, low cytotoxicity and good biocompatibility was found as determined by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay, and the nanomesoporous materials were successfully applied to cell imaging in vitro based on Eu(3+) luminescence (under 405 nm excitation) and small animal imaging based on Tm(3+) luminescence (under 980 nm excitation). The doped Gd(3+) ion endows the nanomesoporous materials UCNPs@mSiO2-Ln(dbm)4 with effective T1 signal enhancement, which affords them as potential magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents. Therefore, our results may provide more exciting opportunities for multimodal bioimaging and multifunctional applications.

Photofunctional hybrids of rare earth complexes covalently bonded to ZnO core-shell nanoparticle substrate through polymer linkage

A novel series of multi-component hybrids are assembled based on rare earth coordinated to rare earth ion (Eu(3+), Tb(3+), Sm(3+), Dy(3+)) complex systems and ZnO nanocomposites through three different ester units (ethyl methacrylate (EMA), 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and 2,2,3,4,4,4-hexafluorobutyl methacrylate (HFMA)) as functional polymer linkages. Methacrylic-group-modified ZnO nanoparticles (designated ZnO-MAA) are synthesized based on the reaction between zinc methacrylate and LiOH with the molar ratio 1 : 3.5 via sol-gel process. The final hybrid materials are prepared by introducing rare earth complexes into ZnO-MAA matrix via addition polymerization reaction in the presence of benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as the initiator. The detailed characterization and luminescence of these hybrid materials are discussed. It is found that ZnO-MAA-HEMA/EMA/HFBMA-RE-phen hybrid systems have effective intramolecular energy transfer process and exhibit longer lifetime and higher quantum efficiency.