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Updated: May 9, 2026
Synthesis of Core-shell Lanthanide-doped Upconversion Nanocrystals for Cellular Applications
Published on: November 10, 2017
Enhanced upconversion luminescence in NaGdF4:Yb,Er nanocrystals by Fe3+ doping and their application in bioimaging
Parthiban Ramasamy1, Prakash Chandra, Seog Woo Rhee
1Department of Chemistry and GETRC, Kongju National University, 182, Shinkwondong, Kongju, 314-701, Chungnam-do, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
The visible green and red upconversion emissions in Er(3+)/Yb(3+) doped β-NaGdF4 nanoparticles were enhanced by tridoping with Fe(3+) ions (0-40 mol%). XRD, XPS, ICP-AES and EDS data demonstrated successful incorporation of Fe(3+) ions in NaGdF4:Yb(3+)/Er(3+) nanoparticles. The effect of Fe(3+) tridoping on the upconversion luminescence in NaGdF4:Yb(3+)/Er(3+) NPs was investigated in detail. The green and red emission intensities were enhanced by 34 and 30 times, respectively. The maximum emission was observed in a sample containing 30 mol% Fe(3+) ions. A possible mechanism for the enhanced upconversion emission is proposed. In addition, a layer of silica was coated onto the surface of UCNPs to improve the biocompatibility. Folic acid was covalently linked to the silica coated UCNPs to form UCNP@SiO2-FA nanoprobes, which have been successfully applied to the fluorescent imaging HeLa cells.
