Fabrication of versatile cyclodextrin-functionalized upconversion luminescence nanoplatform for biomedical imaging

Area of Science:

• Nanotechnology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Materials Science

Background:

• Lanthanide-based upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) are promising luminescent tags for biomedical applications.
• Current challenges include achieving water-dispersibility, biocompatibility, and straightforward functionalization of UCNPs.
• Existing methods often lack versatility for diverse biomedical research needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a versatile strategy for creating water-dispersible and biocompatible UCNPs.
• To introduce a novel ligand for simple functionalization of UCNPs for biomedical applications.
• To demonstrate the utility of the functionalized UCNPs in bioimaging.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of upconversion nanoparticles using 6-phosphate-6-deoxy-β-cyclodextrin (βPCD) as a surface ligand.
• Enhancement of UCNP stability and biocompatibility under physiological conditions.
• Conjugation of functional molecules (organic dyes, biomolecules) via host-guest interactions with the cyclodextrin cavity.
• Application of conjugated UCNPs for labeling cancer cells and tumor tissue slices.

Main Results:

• The βPCD-functionalized UCNPs exhibited enhanced stability and biocompatibility.
• Simple conjugation of various molecules was achieved through host-guest interactions.
• The resulting upconversion nanoprobes effectively labeled cancer cells and tumor tissues for luminescent imaging.
• The nanoplatform demonstrated flexibility for further modifications.

Conclusions:

• A versatile cyclodextrin-functionalized upconversion nanoparticle platform was successfully developed.
• This platform addresses key challenges in UCNP application for biomedical research.
• The nanoplatform shows significant potential for advanced biosensing and bioimaging applications.