Abstract
Upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) as a promising material are widely studied due to their unique optical properties. The material can be excited by long wavelength light and emit visible wavelength light through multiphoton absorption. This property makes the particles highly attractive candidates for bioimaging and therapy application. This review aims at summarizing the synthesis and modification of UCNPs, especially the applications of UCNPs as a theranostic agent for tumor imaging and therapy. The biocompatibility and toxicity of UCNPs are also further discussed. Finally, we discuss the challenges and opportunities in the development of UCNP-based nanoplatforms for tumor imaging and therapy.
Highlights
Optical imaging is an important technique used in theeld of biomedical research because of its noninvasive, real-time and high magnication characteristics
We summarize the recent progress as regards the using of Upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) for tumor imaging and therapy and give a prospect on bio-application of this promising material
In Zhou and his co-workers' sequence work, they demonstrated that the UCNP modied with photosensitizer pyropheophorbide-a and RGD peptide could act as a near infrared light (NIR)-excited photosensitizer for e±cient tumor cell killing and deeper tumor treatment
Summary
Optical imaging is an important technique used in theeld of biomedical research because of its noninvasive, real-time and high magnication characteristics. Comparing conventional °uorescence materials, an excellent imaging probe which is based on. This is an Open Access article published by World Scientic Publishing Company. Under continuous wave (CW) excitation at NIR, lanthanide(Ln)-doping upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) exhibit unique UCL properties, such as sharp emission line, long lifetime, a large anti-Stokes shift of several hundred nanometers, superior photostability and nonblinking.[8] The UCL has several attractive pionts for bioimaging: one is that the NIR light excitation does less harm to the living cells; the second, high SNR due to the very low auto-°uorescence with the NIR excitation; third, the deep tissue penetration owing to the excitation and emission wavelengths both in the range of the biological optical window. We summarize the recent progress as regards the using of UCNPs for tumor imaging and therapy and give a prospect on bio-application of this promising material
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