Biodegradable rare earth fluorochloride nanocrystals for phototheranostics.

ABSTRACT: Rare earth (RE) doped inorganic nanocrystals have been demonstrated as efficient contrast agents for deep tissue shortwave-infrared (SWIR) imaging with high sensitivities leading to potential early detection of tumors. However, a potential concern is the unknown long-term toxicity and incompatibility of inorganic nanocrystals. In this work, biodegradable rare earth nanocrystals of Nd doped SrFCl coated with polydopamine (SrFCl:Nd@PDA) were designed. Instead of traditional fluoride hosts, the chlorinated SrF₂ (i.e. SrFCl) with low phonon energy which significantly improved the brightness of SrFCl:Nd in the SWIR region was used as the host. After coating with a NIR-absorptive PDA layer, the SrFCl:Nd nanoparticles serve as not only a contrast agent for photoacoustic imaging,

SUBMITTER: Zhao X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7497408 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature