Controlled Synthesis of Up-Conversion NaYF4:Yb,Tm Nanoparticles for Drug Release under Near IR-Light Therapy

Edelweiss Moyano Rodríguez,Raúl Pérez-Ruiz,Miguel Gomez-Mendoza,Víctor A De La Peña O’Shea,Diego Sampedro,Antonio Caamaño,Beatriz Peñín

doi:10.3390/biomedicines9121953

Abstract

Up-Conversion materials have received great attention in drug delivery applications in recent years. A specifically emerging field includes the development of strategies focusing on photon processes that promote the development of novel platforms for the efficient transport and the controlled release of drug molecules in the harsh microenvironment. Here, modified reaction time, thermal treatment, and pH conditions were controlled in the synthesis of NaYF4:Yb,Tm up-converted (UC) material to improve its photoluminescence properties. The best blue-emission performance was achieved for the UC3 sample prepared through 24 h-synthesis without thermal treatment at a pH of 5, which promotes the presence of the β-phase and smaller particle size. NaYF4:Yb,Tm has resulted in a highly efficient blue emitter material for light-driven drug release under near-IR wavelength. Thus, NaYF4:Yb,Tm up-converted material promotes the N-O bond cleavage of the oxime ester of Ciprofloxacin (prodrug) as a highly efficient photosensitized drug delivery process. HPLC chromatography and transient absorption spectroscopy measurements were performed to evaluate the drug release conversion rate. UC3 has resulted in a very stable and easily recovered material that can be used in several reaction cycles. This straightforward methodology can be extended to other drugs containing photoactive chromophores and is present as an alternative for drug release systems.

Highlights

The use of drug delivery systems by means of liposomes [3,4], mixed micelles [5,6,7], niosomes [8], micelles [9], bile salts aggregates [10,11,12], nanoparticles [13,14], nanocapsules, gold nanoparticles, microspheres [15], microcapsules, nanobubbles [16], microbubbles, and dendrimers [17,18] are being investigated for diagnosis and therapy [19,20]
The emission properties of these materials were improved through an optimization of the synthesis procedure
The best blue-emission performance was achieved for the UC3 sample prepared through 24 h-synthesis without thermal treatment at a pH of 5

Summary

Introduction

Carriers based on micelles (liposomes, mixed micelles, and niosomes, among others) are made of bile salts, phospholipids, and cholesterol (Ch) They are among the most important biological entities in mammals, exhibiting an outstanding capability for solubilizing lipophilic molecules [21,22]. The study of nanoparticles for drug delivery applications allows both the development of novel platforms for the efficient transport and the controlled release of drug molecules in the harsh microenvironment (changes of pH and/or temperature) of diseased tissues in living systems [23]. These systems are being exploited for the development of pharmaceutical formulations with improved delivery to

Methods

Results

Conclusion