Developing Spectrum Kinetic Upconversion Nanophosphors for Theranostic Applications

Description

Upconversion nanoparticles are a class of luminescent nanomaterials that can convertnear infrared (NIR) excitation into visible and even ultraviolet (UV) emissions. Sincebiological tissues display reduced absorption in the NIR spectral region, thesenanoparticles have been developed as promising luminescent markers for applicationsranging from molecular detection to cancer therapy. Although biolabeling withupconversion nanoparticles has become the state-of-the-art with the potential toimpact fundamental biomedical research and clinical practice, it is not withoutlimitations and complications. For example, classical upconversion nanoparticles are notuseful in theranostic applications because their excitation-independent optical propertiescan hardly offer temporally separated diagnostic and therapeutic processes. Thisproposal seeks to address the problems by developing a new class of spectrum kineticupconversion nanoparticles that show distinct optical emissions in response toexcitations of different wavelengths. Specifically, we aim to realize excitation wavelengthswitchable visible and UV emissions for the purposes of diagnosis and therapy,respectively. A significant amount of effort will also be devoted to boosting theupconversion efficiency in the high-energy UV spectral region. Once refined, weenvisage that our study will open up new opportunities for therapeutic and diagnosticimaging applications that outperform existing upconversion techniques.