Preparation and properties of electrospun NaYF4: Yb3+, Er3+‐PLGA‐gelatin nanofibers

Abstract

AbstractThe synthesis of composite nanofiber often requires complex reaction conditions and the dimensions of the synthesized composite nanofiber are difficult to control. Electrospinning technique could tackle the issue. In this work, we firstly prepare the NaYF4 up‐conversion material composed of double doped rare earth ions of Er3+ and Yb3+. Then, the up‐conversion luminescent NaYF4: Yb3+, Er3+ nanoparticles (NaYF4 NPs) are encapsulated into poly(lactide‐co‐glycolide)‐gelatin (NaYF4‐PLGA‐gelatin) using one‐step electrospinning process. The effect of NaYF4 NPs on morphology, up‐conversion emission spectra, hydrophilicity, mechanical property and degradation of the electrospun NaYF4‐PLGA‐gelatin nanofiber are studied in detail. The highest luminescent intensity of the electrospun NaYF4‐PLGA‐gelatin nanofiber is achieved when the encapsulated content of NaYF4 NPs is 5 mg/ml. Meanwhile, the mechanical properties of the nanofibers with this encapsulated content are also averagely higher than that of the nanofibers with other concentrations. In addition, the electrospun NaYF4‐PLGA‐gelatin nanofibers with a variety of NaYF4 NPs contents present great hydrophilicity and degradation rates. Therefore, this work provides an effective approach for the design of up‐conversion composite nanofibers and can further exploit the applications in in vivo biological imaging and tissue engineering.