Folic Acid-Conjugated LaF3:Yb,Tm@SiO2 Nanoprobes for Targeting Dual-Modality Imaging of Upconversion Luminescence and X‑ray Computed Tomography

• Published in: The journal of physical chemistry. B Vol. 116; no. 48; pp. 14062 - 14070
• Main Authors: Ma, Jiebing, Huang, Peng, He, Meng, Pan, Liyuan, Zhou, Zhijun, Feng, Lili, Gao, Guo, Cui, Daxiang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 06-12-2012
• Subjects: Animals; Cell Line, Tumor; Contrast Media - chemistry; Folic Acid - chemistry; Humans; Lanthanoid Series Elements - chemistry; Luminescence; Male; Mice; Mice, Nude; Nanoparticles - chemistry; Nanoparticles - ultrastructure; Silicon Dioxide - chemistry; Stomach Neoplasms - diagnosis; Tomography, X-Ray Computed - methods
• ISSN: 1520-6106; 1520-5207
• DOI: 10.1021/jp309059u

Development of multimodal contrast agents for in vivo simultaneous multimodality imaging is an emerging interdiscipline that is paving the avenue toward the goal of personalized medicine. Herein, folic acid-conjugated silica-modified LaF3:Yb,Tm upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs@SiO2-FA) with high La content in a single particle were strategically designed and prepared for simultaneously targeting dual-modality imaging of upconversion luminescence (UCL) and X-ray computed tomography (CT). LaF3 UCNPs were synthesized by a novel oleic acid (OA)/ionic liquid (IL) two-phase system. Afterward, a folic acid molecule was covalently anchored on the surface of UCNPs with a silane coupling agent. The UCNPs@SiO2-FA exhibits good stability, water dispersibility and solubility, low cytotoxicity, good biocompatibility, highly selective targeting, excellent X-ray attenuation, and UCL emission under excitation at 980 nm. In vivo UCL and CT images of mice show the UCNPs@SiO2-FA can be used in targeting dual-modality imaging. These results suggest that the as-prepared nanoprobe is a good candidate with excellent imaging and targeting ability for targeting dual-modality imaging of UCL and CT.