Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 9, 2026
13:51
Synthesis of Core-shell Lanthanide-doped Upconversion Nanocrystals for Cellular Applications
Published on: November 10, 2017
15.9K
Nd3+/Yb3+ cascade-sensitized single-band red upconversion emission in active-core/active-shell nanocrystals
M Y Ding1,2, J J Hou1, Y J Yuan1
1College of Materials & Environmental Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, 310018, People's Republic of China.
Nanotechnology
|June 6, 2018
Summary
Lanthanide-doped upconversion nanomaterials (UCNMs) show promise for biomedical uses. New core-shell nanocrystals offer strong red emission with an 808 nm laser, avoiding overheating and signal loss for better biolabeling.
Area of Science:
- Nanomaterials Science
- Biomedical Engineering
- Optical Physics
Background:
- Lanthanide-doped upconversion nanomaterials (UCNMs) offer advantages like low autofluorescence and deep tissue penetration for biomedical applications.
- Current UCNMs face limitations due to 980 nm laser-induced overheating and signal attenuation from multi-peak emissions.
- The first biological window (650–900 nm) presents an optimal spectral region with minimal light absorption by biological tissues.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop UCNMs with excitation and emission in the first biological window.
- To overcome overheating and signal attenuation issues associated with conventional UCNMs.
- To create advanced UCNMs for improved biolabeling applications.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a Nd3+/Yb3+ cascade-sensitized upconversion process.
- Incorporated efficient exchange-energy transfer between Mn2+ and Er3+.
- Employed an active-core@active-shell nanostructured design for KMnF3:Yb/Er/Nd@ KMnF3:Yb/Nd nanocrystals.
Main Results:
- Developed novel upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) exhibiting strong single-band red emission.
- Achieved excitation using an 808 nm near-infrared laser, minimizing overheating concerns.
- Demonstrated potential for reduced signal attenuation compared to conventional UCNMs.
Conclusions:
- The developed KMnF3:Yb/Er/Nd@ KMnF3:Yb/Nd core-shell nanocrystals are a promising alternative for biolabeling.
- These UCNPs address the overheating issue and signal attenuation constraints of conventional UCNMs.
- The new UCNPs offer enhanced performance for in vivo imaging and diagnostics.
Related Concept Videos
01:24Intracellular Signaling Cascades
53.7K
Once a ligand binds to a receptor, the signal is transmitted through the membrane and into the cytoplasm. The continuation of a signal in this manner is called signal transduction. Signal transduction only occurs with cell-surface receptors, which cannot interact with most components of the cell, such as DNA. Only internal receptors can interact directly with DNA in the nucleus to initiate protein synthesis. When a ligand binds to its receptor, conformational changes occur that affect the...
53.7K
02:26tRNA Activation
23.0K
Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases are present in both eukaryotes and bacteria. Though eukaryotes have 20 different aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases to couple to 20 amino acids, many bacteria do not have genes for all of these aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. Despite this, they still use all 20 amino acids to synthesize their proteins. For instance, some bacteria do not have the gene encoding the enzyme that couples glutamine with its partner tRNA. In these organisms, one enzyme adds glutamic acid to all of the...
23.0K
02:35Band Theory
17.3K
When two or more atoms come together to form a molecule, their atomic orbitals combine and molecular orbitals of distinct energies result. In a solid, there are a large number of atoms, and therefore a large number of atomic orbitals that may be combined into molecular orbitals. These groups of molecular orbitals are so closely placed together to form continuous regions of energies, known as the bands.
The energy difference between these bands is known as the band gap.
Conductor, Semiconductor,...
The energy difference between these bands is known as the band gap.
Conductor, Semiconductor,...
17.3K
02:04Co-activators and Co-repressors
8.7K
Gene transcription is regulated by the synergistic action of several proteins that form a complex at a gene regulatory site. This is observed in eukaryotes, where the regulation of gene expression is a complex process. Regulatory proteins in eukaryotes can broadly be classified into two types – regulators that bind directly to specific DNA sequences and co-regulators that associate with regulatory proteins but cannot directly bind to the DNA. These co-regulators are further divided into...
8.7K
01:26Activation Energy
86.8K
Activation energy is the minimum amount of energy necessary for a chemical reaction to move forward. The higher the activation energy, the slower the rate of the reaction. However, adding heat to the reaction will increase the rate, since it causes molecules to move faster and increase the likelihood that molecules will collide. The collision and breaking of bonds represents the uphill phase of a reaction and generates the transition state. The transition state is an unstable high-energy state...
86.8K
02:42Eukaryotic Transcription Activators
12.9K
Transcription activators are proteins that promote the transcription of genes from DNA to RNA. In most cases, these proteins contain two separate domains ‒ a domain that binds to DNA and a domain for activating transcription; however, in some cases, a single domain is responsible for both binding and activation of transcription, as seen in the glucocorticoid receptor and MyoD.
The binding domains are capable of recognizing and interacting with regulatory sequences on the DNA. These...
The binding domains are capable of recognizing and interacting with regulatory sequences on the DNA. These...
12.9K