title: Sub-10 nm hexagonal lanthanide-doped NaLuF4 upconversion nanocrystals for sensitive bioimaging in vivo.
abstract: By thermal decomposition in the presence only of oleylamine, sub-10 nm hexagonal NaLuF(4)-based nanocrystals codoped with Gd(3+), Yb(3+), and Er(3+) (or Tm(3+)) have been successfully synthesized. Sub-10 nm β-NaLuF(4): 24 mol % Gd(3+), 20 mol % Yb(3+), 1 mol % Tm(3+) nanocrystals display bright upconversion luminescence (UCL) with a quantum yield of 0.47 ± 0.06% under continuous-wave excitation at 980 nm. Furthermore, through the use of β-NaLuF(4):Gd(3+),Yb(3+),Tm(3+) nanocrystals as a luminescent label, the detection limit of <50 nanocrystal-labeled cells was achieved for whole-body photoluminescent imaging of a small animal (mouse), and high-contrast UCL imaging of a whole-body black mouse with a penetration depth of ~2 cm was achieved.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Tianshe
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Chenguang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Fuyou
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D028581:Lanthanoid Series Elements / Q000737:chemistry*; D008163:Luminescent Measurements; D051379:Mice; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D051598:Whole Body Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D028581:Lanthanoid Series Elements