One‐Pot Template‐Free Synthesis of NaYF4 Upconversion Hollow Nanospheres for Bioimaging and Drug Delivery |
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| Authors: | Dr Xiao Zhang Dr Wenyan Yin Dr Liang Yan Dr Liangjun Zhou Dr Xiaodong Liu Dr Xiaopeng Zheng Dr Jinxia Li Dr Zhanjun Gu Prof Yuliang Zhao |
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| Institution: | 1. CAS Key Laboratory for Biomedical Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (P.R. China);2. National Center for Nanosciences and Technology of China, Beijing, 100190 (P.R. China);3. College of Materials Science and Opto‐electronic Technology, Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (P.R. China);4. College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610064 (P.R. China) |
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| Abstract: | Hollow‐structured nanomaterials with fluorescent properties are extremely attractive for image‐guided cancer therapy. In this paper, sub‐100 nm and hydrophilic NaYF4 upconversion (UC) hollow nanospheres (HNSs) with multicolor UC luminescence and drug‐delivery properties were successfully prepared by a facile one‐pot template‐free hydrothermal route using polyetherimide (PEI) polymer as the stabilizing agent. XRD, SEM, TEM, and N2‐adsorption/desorption were used to characterize the as‐obtained products. The growth mechanism of the HNSs has been systematically investigated on the basis of the Ostwald ripening. Under 980 nm excitation, UC emissions of HNSs can be tuned by a simple change of the concentration or combination of various upconverters. As a result, the PEI‐coated HNSs could be used as efficient probes for in vitro upconversion luminescence (UCL) cell imaging. Furthermore, a doxorubicin storage/release behavior and cancer‐cell‐killing ability investigation reveal that the product has the potential to be a drug carrier for cancer therapy. |
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| Keywords: | drug delivery hollow nanospheres luminescence one‐pot synthesis Ostwald ripening |
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