Luminescence nanothermometry

Abstract

The current status of luminescence nanothermometry is reviewed in detail. Based on the main parameters of luminescence including intensity, bandwidth, bandshape, polarization, spectral shift and lifetime, we initially describe and compare the different classes of luminescence nanothermometry. Subsequently, the various luminescent materials used in each case are discussed and the mechanisms at the root of the luminescence thermal sensitivity are described. The most important results obtained in each case are summarized and the advantages and disadvantages of these approaches are discussed.

LaF3 core/shell nanoparticles for subcutaneous heating and thermal sensing in the second biological-window

“…11 Despite the continuously growing list of systems that could operate as simultaneous NHs and nanothermometers (NThs), including polymeric NPs, quantum dots, nanodiamonds, metallic NPs, and rare earth-doped NPs, only a few of them show real potential of working subcutaneously. [12][13][14] This is so because most of them operate in the visible spectrum domain, where optical penetration into tissues is minimal. To avoid this limitation, it is necessary to shift their operation spectral range from the visible to the spectral infrared ranges where tissues become partially transparent (due to simultaneous attenuation in both tissue absorption and scattering), lying in the so-called biological windows (BWs).…”

Assessing Single Upconverting Nanoparticle Luminescence by Optical Tweezers

“…This is the case, for instance, of intracellular thermal sensing experiments, in which the cell´s temperature is obtained from the spectral analysis of the Er 3+ ion emission of Er/Yb codoped UCNPs incorporated in living cells. [14][15][16] Thus, the spectral shape of Er 3+ ion emission must be carefully investigated. In the past, optical characterization of UCNPs has been mainly limited to ensemble-averaged measurements performed either on stable colloidal suspensions or in powder samples.…”

Multifunctional Hybrid Fe₂O₃-Au Nanoparticles for Efficient Plasmonic Heating

“…One possible drawback to the photothermal measurements described above is that temperature is measured on the bulk scale and not on the surface of the nanoparticle where the heat is transduced. There are thermometry techniques that can provide this local temperature information, [22][23][24] but these require more complicated sample preparation, making them more challenging to implement. Finally, the measurements described here could easily be combined with other techniques (e.g., photocatalytic degradation) 9 to assess photothermal effects on different processes.…”