Lanthanide upconversion nanoparticles and applications in bioassays and bioimaging: A review

Through the process of photon upconversion, trivalent lanthanide doped nanocrystals convert long-wavelength excitation radiation in the infrared or near infrared region to higher energy emission radiation from ultraviolet to infrared. Such materials offer potential for numerous advantages in analytical applications in comparison to molecular fluorophores and quantum dots. The use of IR radiation as an excitation source reduces autofluorescence and scattering of excitation radiation, which leads to a reduction of background in optical experiments. The upconverting nanocrystals offer excellent photostability and are composed of materials that are not particularly toxic to biological organisms. Excitation at long wavelengths also minimizes damage to biological materials. In this review, the different mechanisms responsible for the upconversion process, and methods that are used to synthesize and decorate upconverting nanoparticles are presented to indicate how absorption and emission can be tuned. Examples of recent applications of upconverting nanoparticles in bioassays for the detection of proteins, nucleic acids, metabolites and metal ions offer indications of analytical advantages in the development of methods of analysis. Examples include multi-color and multi-modal imaging, and the use of upconverting nanoparticles in theranostics.     

Core/shell nanoparticles in biomedical applications

Nanoparticles have several exciting applications in different areas and biomedial field is not an exception of that because of their exciting performance in bioimaging, targeted drug and gene delivery, sensors, and so on. It has been found that among several classes of nanoparticles core/shell is most promising for different biomedical applications because of several advantages over simple nanoparticles. This review highlights the development of core/shell nanoparticles-based biomedical research during approximately past two decades. Applications of different types of core/shell nanoparticles are classified in terms of five major aspects such as bioimaging, biosensor, targeted drug delivery, DNA/RNA interaction, and targeted gene delivery.     

稀土掺杂上转换纳米粒子的表面功能化修饰及其生物应用

稀土掺杂上转换纳米粒子(RED-UCNPs)作为一种新型高效的上转换发光纳米材料,具有反斯托克斯位移大,发射光谱窄、发光寿命长、材料毒性低等优点,已成为荧光标记、光动力学治疗、生物成像和构建生物传感器等领域的研究热点。然而,目前广泛使用的溶剂热法合成的RED-UCNPs生物相容性和亲水性差,而且不具备与生物分子之间相偶联的活性基团,因此对RED-UCNPs进行表面功能化修饰就显得格外重要。本文重点综述了RED-UCNPs的表面功能化修饰的类型及其应用现状,为RED-UCNPs的进一步研究开发和应用提供思路和参考依据。     

Synthesis of improved upconversion nanoparticles as ultrasensitive fluorescence probe for mycotoxins

Rare earth-doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) have promising potentials in biodetection due to their unique frequency upconverting capability and high detection sensitivity. This paper reports an improved UCNPs-based fluorescence probe for dual-sensing of Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and Deoxynivalenol (DON) using a magnetism-induced separation and the specific formation of antibody-targets complex. Herein, the improved UCNPs, which were namely NaYF₄:Yb/Ho/Gd and NaYF₄:Yb/Tm/Gd, were systematically studied based on the optimization of reaction time, temperature and the concentration of dopant ions with simultaneous phase and size controlled NaYF₄ nanoparticles; and the targets were detected using the pattern of competitive combination assay. Under an optimized condition, the advanced fluorescent probes revealed stronger fluorescent properties, broader biological applications and better storage stabilities compared to traditional UCNPs-based ones; and ultrasensitive determinations of AFB1 and DON were achieved under a wide sensing range of 0.001–0.1 ng ml⁻¹ with the limit of detection (LOD) of 0.001 ng ml⁻¹. Additionally, the applicability of the improved nanosensor for the detection of mycotoxins was also confirmed in adulterated oil samples.     

Stimulus-responsive polymeric nanoparticles for biomedical applications

Polymeric nanoparticles with unique properties are regarded as the most promising materials for biomedical applications including drug delivery and in vitro/in vivo imaging.Among them,stimulus-responsive polymeric nanoparticles,usually termed as intelligent nanoparticles,could undergo structure,shape,and property changes after being exposed to external signals including pH,temperature,magnetic field,and light,which could be used to modulate the macroscopical behavior of the nanoparticles.This paper reviews ...     

Self-assembled fluorescent tripeptide nanoparticles for bioimaging and drug delivery applications

Peptide self-assembled nanomaterials have attracted more and more attention due to their wide applications such as drug delivery, cell imaging, and real-time drug monitoring. However, the application of the peptide is still limited by its inherent optical properties. Here we proposed and prepared a series of fluorescent tripeptide nanoparticles (TPNPs) through π-π stacking and zinc coordination. The experimental results show that the nanoparticles (TPNPs1) formed by the self-assembly of the tripeptide tryptophan-tryptophan-tryptophan have the highest fluorescence intensity, uniform and appropriate size, and low cytotoxicity. Furthermore, there was fluorescence resonance between TPNPs1 and doxorubicin, which has been successfully applied for real-time cell imaging and drug release monitoring.     

Self-assembled fluorescent tripeptide nanoparticles for bioimaging and drug delivery applications

Peptide self-assembled nanomaterials have attracted more and more attention due to their wide applications such as drug delivery, cell imaging, and real-time drug monitoring. However, the application of the peptide is still limited by its inherent optical properties. Here we proposed and prepared a series of fluorescent tripeptide nanoparticles (TPNPs) through π-π stacking and zinc coordination. The experimental results show that the nanoparticles (TPNPs1) formed by the self-assembly of the tripeptide tryptophan-tryptophan-tryptophan have the highest fluorescence intensity, uniform and appropriate size, and low cytotoxicity. Furthermore, there was fluorescence resonance between TPNPs1 and doxorubicin, which has been successfully applied for real-time cell imaging and drug release monitoring.     

Three-dimensionally printed electrochemical systems for biomedical analytical applications

Additive manufacturing (3D-printing) has revolutionized many areas of the manufacturing. Three-dimensional printing offers enormous potential to biomedical devices, including electroanalytical systems. The motivation for 3D printing is rapid prototyping and decentralized customizable fabrication of bioanalytical systems in the diverse and remote areas of the globe. We overview the recent trends and discuss the fabrication and applications of 3D printed polymer/carbon and metal electrodes and whole electrochemical systems for biomedical applications and DNA detection. We show that sky is the limit and envision whole analytical systems, including electronics, to be 3D printed in the future for diagnostics in the remote areas of the globe.     

基于DNA与上转换纳米颗粒相结合的生物传感与成像研究进展

脱氧核糖核酸(DNA)的分子识别特性与功能使其在生物传感与成像领域得到了广泛应用. 另一方面, 得益于自身独特的光学性质, 镧系元素掺杂的上转换纳米颗粒在生物医学应用中备受关注. 特别地, 二者的有机结合可产生新的性质与功能, 在生物传感与成像领域展现出优势, 推动了该领域的发展. 本文综合评述了基于DNA与上转换纳米颗粒相结合的生物传感与成像技术的研究进展, 重点聚焦于相关方法的分类与设计原理, 简要概述了相关的应用研究, 并对该领域目前存在的挑战与未来的发展前景进行了讨论.     

Recent progress in carbon-dots-based nanozymes for chemosensing and biomedical applications

Nanozymes are nanomaterials with enzyme-like activities that efficiently overcome the drawbacks of natural enzymes in biosensing, detection, and biomedical fields, and they are the most widely used artificial enzymes. Owing to their excellent catalytic characteristics, biocompatibility, and environmental favorability, carbon-dots-based (CDs) nanozymes have inspired a research upsurge. However, no review focusing on CDs nanozymes has been published, even though substantial advances have been achieved. Herein, the advances, catalytic activities, and applications of CDs nanozymes are highlighted and summarized. In addition, the critical issues and challenges of researching nanozymes are discussed. We hope that this review will broaden the horizons of nanozymes and CDs nanozymes, as well as promote their development.     

Synthesis,characterization, and in vitro toxicity evaluation of upconversion luminescence NaLuF4:Yb3+/Tm3+ nanoparticles suitable for medical applications

Synthesis, characterization, and in vitro toxicity evaluation of upconversion luminescence NaLuF₄:Yb³⁺/Tm³⁺ nanoparticles (UCLNPs) are reported in the current study. Initially, the synthesized lanthanide trifluoroacetate (Ln(OOCCF₃)₃) precursor was used to fabricate NaLuF₄ nanoparticles doped with Yb³⁺ and Tm³⁺ metal ions. The nanoparticles were coated with calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) after removing the hydrophobic species on them to enhance their biocompatibility. The in vitro methylthiazolyldiphenyl-tetrazoliumbromide (MTT) test was used to evaluate the toxicity of synthesized NaLuF₄:Yb³⁺/Tm³⁺ nanoparticles (NLF-5) on L929 mouse fibroblast cell lines. The transmission electron microscopy image showed that the particle size of NaLuF₄:Yb³⁺/Tm³⁺ was 32 nm. The synthesized NLF-5 nanoparticles have both α-cubic and β-hexagonal crystalline structures that provided a superb near-infrared-to-near-infrared upconversion luminescence signal when excited at 980 nm. MTT test results show that the death of L929 fibroblast cells was observed only at concentrations above 250 μg/mL of NaLuF₄:Yb³⁺/Tm³⁺ nanoparticles. In addition, with an increase in patrol time of 24, 48, and 72 hr, cell toxicity increased significantly, while the coated nanoparticles did not have any toxic effects. The synthesized nanoparticles could be used as a suitable material for medical applications due to their small particle size, high photoluminescence emission intensity, and low toxicity.     

Development of a test strip based on DNA-functionalized gold nanoparticles for rapid detection of mercury(II) ions

A rapid,sensitive,selective and reliable strip assay based on DNA-functionalized gold nanoparticles for Hg²⁺ detection has been developed,with a detection limit 5 nmol/L.The measurement principle was based on thymine-Hg²⁺-thymine(T-Hg²⁺-T) coordination chemistry and streptavidin-biotin interaction.The major advantages of this assay are that results can be read visually without any instrument in less than 10 min and that it does not require any sample pretreatment.     

金纳米粒子的合成、特性及其在生物医学检测中的应用研究进展

近年来,纳米技术越来越广泛的应用到各个领域,金纳米粒子因其具有许多优良的物理、化学及生物学性质而引起了人们特别的关注。本文综述了金纳米粒子几种经典的合成方法,以及基于金纳米粒子独特的理化性质在病原体、核酸蛋白质检测方面的最新研究进展。     

DNA-mediated coordinative assembly of upconversion hetero-nanostructures for targeted dual-modality imaging of cancer cells

We reported a simple and universal strategy for DNA-mediated assembly of CdTe quantum dots (QDs) and lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs). Such DNA-QD/UCNPs heterostructures not only maintains both fluorescent properties of QDs and upconversion luminescence behaviors of UCNPs, but also offers a polyvalent DNA surface, allowing for targeted dual-modality imaging of cancer cells using an aptamer     

以上转换纳米颗粒和光动力疗法为基础的肿瘤联合治疗研究进展

光动力疗法作为一种非侵入性治疗手段已广泛应用于肿瘤的临床治疗。然而其疗效却深受紫外-可见光组织穿透深度的限制。镧系掺杂上转换纳米颗粒可以将近红外光转换为紫外-可见光,被广泛用于与传统光敏剂结合实现更为高效的光动力治疗。近年来,以上转换纳米颗粒和光动力疗法为基础的肿瘤联合治疗研究备受关注,本文重点介绍了该领域的最新研究进展,并对其未来发展方向作出了展望。     

In situ electrodeposited nanoparticles for facilitating electron transfer across self-assembled monolayers in biosensor design

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were synthesized in situ and electrodeposited onto Au substrate. The AuNPs modified interface facilitates electron transfer across self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUA). After activation of surface carboxyl groups with 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide and N-hydroxysuccinimide, the interface displayed good stability for immobilization of biomolecules. These modification processes were characterized by contact angle measurement, cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectra. The immobilized acetylcholinesterase (AChE), as a model, showed excellent activity to its substrate, leading to a stable AChE biosensor. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the inhibition of malathion on AChE biosensor was proportional to its concentration in two ranges, from 0.001 to 0.1 μg mL⁻¹ and from 0.1 to 25 μg mL⁻¹, with detection limit of 0.001 μg mL⁻¹. The simple method showed good reproducibility and acceptable stability, which had potential application in biosensor design.     

Synthesis and electrochemical applications of gold nanoparticles

This review covers recent advances in synthesis and electrochemical applications of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). Described approaches include the synthesis of AuNPs via designing and choosing new protecting ligands; and applications in electrochemistry of AuNPs including AuNPs-based bioelectrochemical sensors, such as direct electrochemistry of redox-proteins, genosensors and immunosensors, and AuNPs as enhancing platform for electrocatalysis and electrochemical sensors.     

Lipid,protein and poly(NIPAM) coated mesoporous silica nanoparticles for biomedical applications

In the past decade, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) as nanocarriers have showed much potential in advanced nanomaterials due to their large surface area and pore volume. Especially, more and more MSNs based nanodevices have been designed as efficient drug delivery systems (DDSs) or biosensors. In this paper, lipid, protein and poly(NIPAM) coated MSNs are reviewed from the preparation, properties and their potential application. We also introduce the preparative methods including physical adsorption, covalent binding and self-assembly on the MSNs' surfaces. Furthermore, the interaction between the aimed cells and these molecular modified MSNs is discussed. We also demonstrate their typical applications, such as photodynamic therapy, bioimaging, controlled release and selective recognition in biomedical field.