High efficiency upconversion nanophosphors for high-contrast bioimaging

Upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) are of interest because they allow suppression of tissue autofluorescence and are therefore visible deep inside biological tissue. Compared to upconversion dyes, UCNPs have a lower pump intensity threshold, better photostability, and less toxicity. Recently, YVO₄: Er⁺³, Yb⁺³ nanoparticles were shown to exhibit strong up-conversion luminescence with a relatively low 10 kW cm^-2 excitation intensity even in water, which makes them excellent bio-imaging candidates. Herein, we investigate their use as internal probes in insects by injecting YVO₄ : Er⁺³, Yb⁺³ nanoparticles into fire ants as a biological model, and obtain 2D optical images with 980 nm illumination. High-contrast images with high signal-to-noise ratio are observed by detecting the up-conversion fluorescence as the excitation laser is scanned.