Lanthanide-Functionalized Nanoparticles as MRI and Luminescent Probes for Sensing and/or Imaging Applications

Abstract

The combination of lanthanides and nanoparticles to develop new hybrid nanomaterials has become a highly topical area of research in the field of sensing, biomedical imaging, drug delivery, etc. However, these novel nanomaterials have to be carefully designed to ensure that the unique properties conveyed by each component, i.e., lanthanide ions and nanoparticles, are maximized and not negatively affected by one another. In this Forum Article, the main advances in the design of lanthanide-based nanoparticles will be discussed, with the first part focusing on the design of gadolinium(III)-based nanoparticles and their use as magnetic resonance imaging agents. The second part will then describe the main and most recent designs of luminescent lanthanide-based nanoparticles and their applications as sensors or imaging agents, with a special emphasis on our contribution to this area.

Detection of the neurotransmitter dopamine by a glassy carbon electrode modified with self-assembled perovskite LaFeO3 microspheres made up of nanospheres

“…3(d) (inset), and the sensitivity analysis was studied using amperometry. 20 The current response for the addition of each 100 nM is presented in Fig. 3(d).…”

Interfacial interactions of hard polyelectrolyte-stabilized luminescent colloids with substrates

“…Luminescent nanoparticles have gained great attention during recent decades due to their applicability in sensing and imaging [1][2][3][4]. Core-shell morphology of luminescent nanoparticles is of great impact in their sensing function and biocompatibility [3][4][5][6].…”

Lanthanide light for biology and medical diagnosis

“…The past decade has witnessed important developments toward the design of multimodal probes, for both biosensing or bioimaging and theranostics. Examples are luminescent probes integrating two different emitting ions or with a contrast agent functionality enabling simultaneous imaging by MRI[49]. The latter case is highly interesting in that it combines high sensitivity of optical sensing with high spatial resolution of MRI.…”