Jethva Palak, Momin Munira, Khan Tabassum, Omri Abdelwahab
SVKM's Dr. Bhanuben Nanavati College of Pharmacy, Mumbai 400 056, India.
Department of Pharmaceutics, SVKM's Dr. Bhanuben Nanavati College of Pharmacy, Mumbai 400 056, India.
Materials (Basel). 2022 Mar 23;15(7):2374. doi: 10.3390/ma15072374.
Upconverting luminescent nanoparticles (UCNPs) are "new generation fluorophores" with an evolving landscape of applications in diverse industries, especially life sciences and healthcare. The anti-Stokes emission accompanied by long luminescence lifetimes, multiple absorptions, emission bands, and good photostability, enables background-free and multiplexed detection in deep tissues for enhanced imaging contrast. Their properties such as high color purity, high resistance to photobleaching, less photodamage to biological samples, attractive physical and chemical stability, and low toxicity are affected by the chemical composition; nanoparticle crystal structure, size, shape and the route; reagents; and procedure used in their synthesis. A wide range of hosts and lanthanide ion (Ln) types have been used to control the luminescent properties of nanosystems. By modification of these properties, the performance of UCNPs can be designed for anticipated end-use applications such as photodynamic therapy (PDT), high-resolution displays, bioimaging, biosensors, and drug delivery. The application landscape of inorganic nanomaterials in biological environments can be expanded by bridging the gap between nanoparticles and biomolecules via surface modifications and appropriate functionalization. This review highlights the synthesis, surface modification, and biomedical applications of UCNPs, such as bioimaging and drug delivery, and presents the scope and future perspective on Ln-doped UCNPs in biomedical applications.
上转换发光纳米粒子（UCNPs）是“新一代荧光团”，在包括生命科学和医疗保健在内的不同行业中的应用不断发展。其反斯托克斯发射伴随着长发光寿命、多次吸收、发射带和良好的光稳定性，能够在深层组织中进行无背景和多重检测，以增强成像对比度。它们的性质，如高色纯度、高抗光漂白性、对生物样品的光损伤小、具有吸引人的物理和化学稳定性以及低毒性，受到化学成分、纳米颗粒晶体结构、尺寸、形状和合成路线、试剂及所用程序的影响。已使用多种主体和镧系离子（Ln）类型来控制纳米系统的发光性质。通过对这些性质进行修饰，可将UCNPs的性能设计用于预期的最终用途应用，如光动力疗法（PDT）、高分辨率显示器、生物成像、生物传感器和药物递送。通过表面修饰和适当的功能化弥合纳米颗粒与生物分子之间的差距，可以扩展无机纳米材料在生物环境中的应用前景。本综述重点介绍了UCNPs的合成、表面修饰及其生物医学应用，如生物成像和药物递送，并阐述了镧系元素掺杂的UCNPs在生物医学应用中的范围和未来展望。
