A Versatile Imaging and Therapeutic Platform Based on Dual-Band Luminescent Lanthanide Nanoparticles toward Tumor Metastasis Inhibition.

Upconversion (UC) luminescent lanthanide nanoparticles (LNPs) are expected to play an important role in imaging and photodynamic therapy (PDT) in vitro and in vivo. However, with the absorption of UC emissions by photosensitizers (PSs) to generate singlet oxygen ((1)O2) for PDT, the imaging signals from LNPs are significantly weakened. It is important to activate another imaging route to track the location of the LNPs during PDT process. In this work, Nd(3+)-sensitized LNPs with dual-band visible and near-infrared (NIR) emissions under single 808 nm excitation were reported to address this issue. The UC emissions in green could trigger covalently linked rose bengal (RB) molecules for efficient PDT, and NIR emissions deriving from Yb(3+) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were used for imaging simultaneously. Notably, the designed therapeutic platform could further effectively avoid the overheating effect induced by the laser irradiation, due to the minimized absorption of biological media at around 808 nm. TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay showed serious cell apoptosis in the tumor after PDT for 2 weeks, leading to an effective tumor inhibition rate of 67%. Benefit from the PDT, the tumor growth-induced liver and spleen burdens were largely attenuated, and the liver injury was also alleviated. More importantly, pulmonary and hepatic tumor metastases were significantly reduced after PDT. The Nd(3+)-sensitized LNPs provide a multifunctional nanoplatform for NIR light-assisted PDT with minimized heating effect and an effective inhibition of tumor growth and metastasis.

Nd(3+)-sensitized upconversion nanophosphors: efficient in vivo bioimaging probes with minimized heating effect.

Upconversion (UC) process in lanthanide-doped nanomaterials has attracted great research interest for its extensive biological applications in vitro and in vivo, benefiting from the high tissue penetration depth of near-infrared excitation light and low autofluorescence background. However, the 980 nm laser, typically used to trigger the Yb(3+)-sensitized UC process, is strongly absorbed by water in biological structures and could cause severe overheating effect. In this article, we report the extension of the UC excitation spectrum to shorter wavelengths, where water has lower absorption. This is realized by further introducing Nd(3+) as the sensitizer and by building a core/shell structure to ensure successive Nd(3+) → Yb(3+) → activator energy transfer. The efficacy of this Nd(3+)-sensitized UC process is demonstrated in in vivo imaging, and the results confirmed that the laser-induced local overheating effect is greatly minimized.

Visual DNA microarrays for simultaneous detection of Ureaplasma urealyticum and Chlamydia trachomatis coupled with multiplex asymmetrical PCR.

Visual DNA microarrays, based on gold label silver stain (GLSS) and coupled with multiplex asymmetrical PCR, were developed for simultaneous, sensitive and specific detection of Ureaplasma urealyticum and Chlamydia trachomatis. 5'-end-amino-modified oligonucleotides, which were immobilized on glass surface, acted as capturing probes that were designed to bind complementary biotinylated targets DNA. The gold-conjugated streptavidins were introduced to the microarray for specific binding to biotin. The black image of microarray spots, resulting from the precipitation of silver onto nanogold particles bound to streptavidins, were used to detect biotinylated targets DNA visually or with a visible light scanner. Multiplex asymmetrical PCR of U. urealyticum, C. trachomatis and Bacillus subtilis (used as positive control) was performed to prepare abundant biotinylated single-stranded targets DNA, which affected detection efficiency and sensitivity of hybridization on microarray. Plenty of clinical samples of U. urealyticum and C. trachomatis from infected patients were tested using home-made DNA microarrays. For its high sensitivity, good specificity, simplicity, cheapness and speed, the present visual gene-detecting technique has potential applications in clinical fields.