Lanthanide-doped upconverting luminescent nanoparticle platforms for optical imaging-guided drug delivery and therapy

Lanthanide-doped upconverting luminescent nanoparticles (UCNPs) are promising materials for optical imaging-guided drug delivery and therapy due to their unique optical and chemical properties. UCNPs absorb low energy near-infrared (NIR) light and emit high-energy shorter wavelength photons. Their special features allow them to overcome various problems associated with conventional imaging probes and to provide versatility for creating nanoplatforms with both imaging and therapeutic modalities. Here, we discuss several approaches to fabricate and utilize UCNPs for traceable drug delivery and therapy.