title: Synthesis of a rare-earth doped hafnia hydrosol: Towards injectable luminescent nanocolloids.
abstract: A major obstacle in the introduction of luminescent nanoparticles (NPs) for medical applications is that quantum dots, the most widely studied luminescent materials, despite being biologically safe after coating with a bioshell, still contain a toxic core mostly consisting of semi-conductor NPs, which are not approved by regulatory agencies. Here we point to a potential solution of this problem by using rare-earth (RE) doped hafnia NPs. Hafnia is approved for medical injections as an effective means for the treatment of radiosensitive and radioresistant tumors and can significantly decrease potential toxicity of RE ions. As a step towards the achievement of this goal we describe the development of a bio-friendly method for the preparation of a stable doped hafnia hydrosol with an isoelectric point (IEP) of 8.2, which shows high fluorescence and biocompatibility in regular coagulant tests and cytotoxic assays.
authors.affiliation: ITMO University, St. Petersburg 197101, Russian Federation.
authors.forename: Aleksandra D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Furasova
authors.affiliation: ITMO University, St. Petersburg 197101, Russian Federation.
authors.forename: Anna F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Fakhardo
authors.affiliation: ITMO University, St. Petersburg 197101, Russian Federation.
authors.forename: Valentin A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Milichko
authors.affiliation: ETH Zurich, Department of Materials, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 5, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tervoort
authors.affiliation: ETH Zurich, Department of Materials, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 5, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Niederberger
authors.affiliation: ITMO University, St. Petersburg 197101, Russian Federation. Electronic address: vinogradov@scamt.ru.
authors.forename: Vladimir V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Vinogradov
mesh_terms: D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004355:Drug Stability; D006195:Hafnium / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D007267:Injections; D049449:Luminescence; D008422:Materials Testing; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008674:Metals, Rare Earth / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry*; D045663:Quantum Dots / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D008674:Metals, Rare Earth; D006195:Hafnium
keywords: Hafnia; Injectable; Luminescence; Nanocolloid