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Tailoring Photonic Landscape: Nanoengineering Empowers NIR-II Lanthanide Luminescence for Versatile Biomedical
Zi-Han Chen1, Zhiwei Cheng2, Yulong Xue2
1Laboratory of Advanced Materials, Department of Chemistry, College of Smart Materials and Future Energy, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Shanghai Wusong Laboratory of Materials Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
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The second near-infrared (NIR-II, 1000-2500 nm) imaging technology has enabled high-resolution deep-tissue biomedical applications due to its less photon scattering and minimized autofluorescence. Among various NIR-II fluorescent probes, lanthanide-based nanocrystals represent one of the most promising NIR-II luminescent nanoplatforms owing to their narrow emission bandwidth, tunable luminescent lifetime, high photostability, and programmable energy transfer (ET) pathways. Recent advances in core-shell nanoengineering have significantly expanded the optical properties of lanthanide luminescence, enabling high-contrast imaging, multiplexed detection, quantitative biosensing and light-triggered therapy in living systems. In this review, we systematically summarize the rational design of lanthanide core-shell nanostructures for optimizing NIR-II luminescence and biomedical functionality. We first discuss the fundamental principles of photon-tissue interactions and the subdivision of NIR-II bioimaging windows, highlighting the advantages of long-wavelength NIR-II-L imaging. We then focus on how interfacial engineering, energy-transfer regulation and crystal-field modulation govern luminescence efficiency, spectral profiles and lifetime behavior. Advanced nanoarchitectures enabling orthogonal luminescence, ratiometric sensing and multifunctional integration are further highlighted. Finally, we summarize representative biomedical applications including high-resolution bioimaging, phototherapy, regenerative medicine and accurate biological detection of temperature, oxygen metabolism and reactive oxygen species (ROS). This review provides a comprehensive perspective on photonic nanoengineering strategies for next-generation NIR-II lanthanide nanoplatforms toward precision nanomedicine.
