Abstract
Cancer is one of the major diseases that threaten human life. Upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) are one of the new nanomaterials that are expected to detect and treat cancer. One-step hydrothermal method can synthesize UCNPs with controllable physical and chemical properties and low biotoxicity. In this work, oleic acid (OA) and polyethylene glycol (PEG)–modified NaGdF4/GdF3:Yb,Er UCNPs were synthesized by one-step hydrothermal method. And the as-prepared UCNPs were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and by using superconductor quantum interference devices (SQUID). The cytotoxicity of the modified NaGdF4/GdF3:Yb,Er UCNPs was evaluated. The results show that OA-modified UCNPs are hexagonal NaGdF4 phase, and PEG-modified UCNPs is orthorhombic GdF3 phase respectively. The particle size of OA-modified and PEG-modified UCNPs is about 15 nm and about 30 nm, respectively. The modified UCNPs have good magnetic properties and strong upconversion luminescence properties (UCL), wherein PEG-modified UCNPs perform slightly better capabilities than those of OA-modified UCNPs. When the concentration of nanoparticles increased from 62.5 to 500 μg/mL, OA-NaGdF4:Yb,Er showed a certain cytotoxicity and exhibited dose-effect relationship. However, PEG-GdF3:Yb,Er did not display obvious cytotoxicity. Therefore, PEG-modified UCNPs may be more suitable for application in oncology field.
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This work was supported by The Open Project of The Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of Education, Nanjing Medical University (NMUMT201808); the Natural Sciences Foundation of Tianjin City of China (No. 12JCYBJC19100); the Natural Science Foundation of Heilongjiang Province of China (No. C201459); the Major Advance Research Foundation of Qiqihar Medical University (Grant No. QMSI2017ZD-01); and the Scientific Research Foundation from the Education Department of Heilongjiang Province of China (No. 12541917).
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Hong, E., Wang, Y., Liu, L. et al. Controlled synthesis of gadolinium fluoride upconversion nanoparticles capped with oleic acid or polyethylene glycol molecules via one-step hydrothermal method and their toxicity to cancer cells. J Nanopart Res 22, 343 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-020-05068-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-020-05068-2