Dongdong Lia,
Wen-Yong Lai*ab,
Qiyue Shao*c and
Wei Huangab
aKey Laboratory for Organic Electronics and Information Displays (KLOEID), Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Jiangsu National Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM), Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications, 9 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210023, China. E-mail: iamwylai@njupt.edu.cn
bKey Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (KLOFE), Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Jiangsu National Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM), Nanjing Tech University (NanjingTech), 30 South Puzhu Road, Nanjing 211816, China
cJiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Metallic Materials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, People's Republic of China. E-mail: qiyueshao@seu.edu.cn
First published on 14th February 2017
NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+@SiO2@Au heterogeneous nanostructures, with the ability of integrating upconversion luminescence (UCL) and photothermal therapy as well as real-time temperature monitoring, have been successfully prepared. The UCL intensities of NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+ nanocrystals showed an obvious reduction after gold nanoparticle attachment and gold shell coating, but it was found that they were independent of the SiO2 spacer layer thicknesses. The presence of gold nanostructures can significantly improve the photothermal conversion properties of NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+ nanocrystals with an increased temperature up to 39 °C, while retaining their temperature sensing properties, manifesting their great potential as diagnostic and therapeutic tools for use in biomedical fields.
Among various UCNPs, hexagonal phase (β-)NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+ nanoparticles have been demonstrated to be the most efficient upconversion materials.12 However, their absolute quantum yields remain still low and are usually less than 1%.13 Most of absorption energy has dissipated to crystal lattice as heat. Based on this reason, β-NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+ UCNPs are potential novel photothermal therapy tools for clinical applications. Nevertheless, most previous efforts have been made to improve the UCL efficiency, but little has been attempted to utilize the heat energy generated from the photothermal conversion process. The use of NaGdF4:Yb3+,Er3+ nanocrystals alone is able to offer some heat energy, but the finite temperature increase (≤10 °C) in most cases was insufficient for photothermal therapy application.14 The introduction of noble metal nanoparticles, especially gold and silver nanomaterials, is attractive to improve this performance, due to their strong optical absorption in visible and NIR range. Improved photothermal conversion properties have been achieved by constructing UCNPs@Au (or Ag) heterogeneous nanostructures.15,16 However, their photothermal conversion efficiency is still unsatisfactory and only limited temperature rise no higher than 25 °C was recorded even at a high excitation power density.16 Further optimization is highly desirable for realizing efficient photothermal conversion process.
In this work, NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+@SiO2@Au heterogeneous nanostructures were designed, synthesized and efficient photothermal conversion was achieved by precisely controlling the particle size of Au nanoparticles and the thickness of Au shell. In order to clarify the controversial mechanism between noble metals and UCNPs, the influences of gold nanostructures (Au particles and Au shell) on the UCL properties were studied by accurately regulating SiO2 isolation layer thicknesses. In addition, the temperature sensing application for the resulting heterogeneous nanostructures was also investigated. The results reveal that the presence of gold nanostructures can significantly improve the photothermal conversion properties of NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+ nanocrystals with the increased temperature up to 39 °C, while retaining their temperature sensing properties.
In a typical synthesis of NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+ UCNPs, 1.0 mmol rare-earth acetates (Y/Yb/Er = 78:20:2) with 6 mL of oleic acid and 15 mL of 1-octadecene were added to a flask under vigorous stirring. The solution was heated to 100 °C under vacuum conditions to remove oxygen and residual water. After cooling to 50 °C, a methanol solution (10 mL) containing 4.0 mmol of NH4F and 2.5 mmol of NaOH was added. The resulting solution was kept at 50 °C for 30 min. After methanol was evaporated, the solution was heated to 300 °C under an argon atmosphere for 90 min. The nanoparticles were precipitated by addition of ethanol and isolated via centrifugation.
For the formation of 10 nm silica shell, 0.5 mmol of NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+ UCNPs in 20 mL of cyclohexane were mixed with 1 mL of CO-520 and stirred for 10 min. Then, 4 mL of CO-520 and 0.8 mL of concentrated ammonia were added and sonicated for 20 min. After that, 0.2 mL of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) was slowly added, and the mixture was stirred for 48 h at room temperature. The nanoparticles were precipitated with acetone and washed 3 times with 1:1 volume of ethanol/water solution. The silica thicknesses were adjusted by varying the contents of TEOS (0.02 mL of TEOS for 2 nm SiO2 shell and 0.4 mL of TEOS for 18 nm SiO2 shell).
For the amine functionalization of NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+@SiO2 surface, 0.5 mmol of NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+@SiO2 nanoparticles were dispersed in 20 mL of ethanol by sonication. Then, 1.3 mL of concentrated ammonia was added and stirred for 10 min under a sealed condition. After that, 1.0 mL of 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane was slowly added and stirred for 24 h under a sealed condition. In order to improve the modification effect, the solution was then stirred at 70 °C for 2 h in water bath. The nanoparticles were centrifuged at 8000 rpm and washed 2 times with ethanol. The final products were dispersed in 40 mL of de-ionized (DI) water.
For the formation of gold seeds, 0.1 g of NaOH with 12 μL of 80% tetrakis (hydroxymethyl) phosphonium chloride were added to 45 mL of DI water under vigorous stirring. Then, 2 mL of 1% chloroauric acid (HAuCl4) was quickly added. The solution was stirred for 3 h in darkroom, and then centrifuged at 12000 rpm. Gold seeds were washed 2 times with ethanol before dispersed in 10 mL of DI water. The formation procedure of gold nanoparticles was the same as that of gold seeds, except that the content of HAuCl4 was 4 mL. After the synthesis of gold seeds (or gold nanoparticles), 10 mL of amine-modified NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+@SiO2 aqueous solution was slowly dropped into 5 mL of gold seeds (or gold nanoparticles) solution. With 6 h of curing, gold seeds (or gold nanoparticles) were attached onto the surface of NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+@SiO2 nanoparticles. The solution was centrifuged at 5500 rpm and washed 2 times with ethanol. The as-prepared NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+@SiO2@Au nanoparticles were then dispersed in 10 mL of DI water.
For gold shell growth, 0.025 g of potassium carbonate was dissolved in 100 mL of DI water. After 10 min, 1.5 mL of 1% HAuCl4 was added. The solution was aged for 24 h in darkroom. Then, 10 mL of above solution was mixed with 5 mL of gold seeds attached NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+@SiO2 nanoparticles, and stirred for 10 min. A reducing agent formaldehyde (35%, 36 μL) was then introduced dropwise. Under vigorous stirring, a black precipitate was observed few minutes later. The solution was centrifuged at 5500 rpm and washed 2 times with ethanol. The NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+@SiO2@Au core–shell nanostructures were dispersed in 10 mL DI water for further study.
After amine modification, gold nanoparticles with average diameter of ∼9.3 nm were attached onto the surface of NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+@SiO2 nanoparticles. As shown in Fig. 2(a–c), NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+@SiO2@Au nanostructures with different SiO2 spacer layer thicknesses were constructed after the gold nanoparticles adsorption. Taking advantage of NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+@SiO2 nanoparticles attached with gold seeds as the precursors, gold shells were then successfully obtained by introducing additional HAuCl4 and reductant into the solution. It can be seen from Fig. 2(d–f) that continuous gold shells with the average thickness of 15 nm have grown on the surface of NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+@SiO2 nanoparticles. The coated gold shell reduced the monodispersity of NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+@SiO2@Au nanostructures in aqueous solution, and even presented a black precipitate in final products, indicating the strong absorption of visible light.
Three interactions between metal nanostructures and UCNPs can influence the UCL intensities of UCNPs: (a) an increase of the excitation rate by local field enhancement (LFE); (b) an increase of the emission rate by surface-plasmon-coupled emission (SPCE); (c) energy transfer from UCNPs to metal nanostructures (ET).21 LFE and SPCE factors account for the metal-induced UCL enhancement.22 However, the energy transfer from UCNPs to metal nanostructures would result in an obvious quenching in UCL intensities.23 In order to understand the interaction between gold nanostructures and UCNPs, we further characterized the UV-Vis-NIR absorption spectra of gold nanoparticles and gold shell. As shown in Fig. 4(a), a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak centered at around 550 nm can be observed for gold nanoparticles, which overlays well with the upconversion emission peaks at around 525 and 545 nm, and partially overlays with the emission peak at around 660 nm. Given that UCL was suppressed rather than enhanced by gold nanoparticles, it is reasonable to believe that ET instead of SPCE plays the dominant role in regulating the UCL intensities of NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+ UCNPs. Compared with the sharp absorption peak of gold nanoparticles, a wide absorption band from visible to NIR region can be observed for gold shell (Fig. 4b). Due to the strong absorption of all upconversion emissions as well as the 975 nm excitation light, the UCL was quenched after the gold shell growth. The obvious enhancement in photothermal conversion properties in the presence of gold nanostructures (will be discussed later) also proved the huge energy extraction from upconversion emission, and consequently led to a significant reduction in UCL intensities. Previous study on enhancing the UCL by gold shell tuned the SPR peak to the NIR region (900 nm) by reducing the shell thickness to 3 nm.24 We thus believe that a thin gold shell is necessary for the enhancement of UCL.
RHS = RHS(0)exp(−ΔE/kT) | (1) |
Fig. 5(a) shows the dependence of ln(RHS) on the inverse temperature for NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+ UCNPs with and without gold nanoparticles and gold shell. In accordance with eqn (1), all the samples show a good linear relation of ln(RHS) versus 1/T. It means that the temperature can be accurately measured from the intensity ratio of 525 and 545 nm emissions. In addition, almost the same relations of RHS vs. 1/T are obtained for three samples, indicating that the existence of gold nanostructures has little effects on the temperature sensing properties of NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+ UCNPs. Therefore, NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+@SiO2@Au nanostructures can be used as the temperature sensing probes for real-time temperature monitoring, without altering the temperature sensing properties of UCNPs.
Fig. 5 (a) Plots of ln(RHS) vs. 1/T and (b) photothermal conversion properties of NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+@SiO2, NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+@SiO2@Au nanoparticles and NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+@SiO2@Au shell. |
To assess the photothermal conversion properties for possible biomedical applications, the change of the temperature of NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+@SiO2@Au nanostructures in aqueous solution were measured under the exposure to 975 nm laser with the pump power of 1.73 W. As depicted in Fig. 5(b), the temperature of NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+ UCNPs increased ∼9 °C within 10 min. This temperature rises can be attributed to the low quantum yields of UCNPs, which lead to most of the energy consumed in the form of heat. Therefore, the temperature of NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+ UCNPs can rise rapidly using 975 nm NIR light as the radiation source. As the presence of gold nanostructures, the photothermal conversion properties of NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+ UCNPs are dramatically improved. For instance, the temperature increased by ∼24 and ∼39 °C with gold nanoparticles attachment and gold shell coating, respectively. This photothermal conversion results outperform the previous records reported in literature,16 suggesting great promise for further clinical applications. The improved photothermal conversion properties can be attributed to the precise position and high intensity of the SPR peak (Fig. 4) regulated by the appropriate dimension of metal nanostructures, including the size of metal nanoparticles and the thickness of metal shells. The gold nanostructures can absorb energy from UCNPs, and then converts it into heat.
The above results suggest that NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+@SiO2@Au nanostructures would be ideal diagnostic and therapeutic tool to be used in vitro and in vivo, due to their ability of integrating UCL, temperature sensing, and photothermal therapy simultaneously. Considering the big particle size and the low dispersion in aqueous solution of gold shell coated NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+@SiO2@Au nanostructures, we believe that gold nanoparticles coated NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+@SiO2@Au nanostructures with excellent photothermal conversion properties and high dispersion in aqueous solution are preferable as multifunctional nanomaterials in biomedical fields.
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