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Rare-earth Nanomaterials for Potential Brain Disease Theranostics

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Chemical Research in Chinese Universities Aims and scope

Abstract

Brain diseases with high mortality cause severe threats to human health and life. Non-invasively high-resolution imaging technologies contribute to obtaining detailed brain structures to figure out the pathogenesis. In addition, timely visualization benefits the early warning and diagnosis of brain diseases. Rare-earth-based nanoparticles(RENPs) with excellent optical properties are highlighted for the diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases in recent years. Their tunable down-conversion fluorescence enables the high-resolution NIR-II fluorescence imaging of the brain. Besides, the excellent up-conversion luminescence can be applied to designing fluorescent probes to visualize brain diseases. Importantly, the surface of RENPs can be tailored to cross the blood-brain barrier, target the disease site in the brain and deliver drugs specifically, providing an effective tool for treating brain diseases. Excitingly, RENPs can be combined with emerging therapies, such as phototherapy, gas therapy and sonodynamic therapy, significantly improving the therapeutic effects of glioblastoma. This review summarizes the rational design, functionalization strategies and application of RENPs in brain imaging, diagnosis and therapy. Furthermore, a brief perspective on existing challenges and further development of RENPs is presented.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos.22020102003, 22207104, 52222214), the National Key R&D Program of China(Nos.2022YFF071000, 2021YFF0701800), the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of Chinese Academy of Sciences(No.2020228), the Natural Science Foundation of Jilin Province, China(Nos.20230101102JC, 20210101366JC), the Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China(Nos.2020M681055, 2022T150634), and the Young Elite Scientists Sponsorship Program by the China Association for Science and Technology(Nos.2021-2023QNRC, YESS20210067).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource Utilization, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130022, P. R. China

    Zheng Wei, Yawei Liu, Fan Wang, Kai Liu & Hongjie Zhang

  2. School of Applied Chemistry and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, P. R. China

    Zheng Wei, Kai Liu & Hongjie Zhang

  3. Engineering Research Center of Advanced Rare Earth Materials, Ministry of Education, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, P. R. China

    Kai Liu & Hongjie Zhang

  4. Xiangfu Laboratory, Jiaxing, 314102, P. R. China

    Kai Liu & Hongjie Zhang

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  1. Zheng Wei
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  2. Yawei Liu
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  3. Fan Wang
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  4. Kai Liu
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  5. Hongjie Zhang
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Correspondence to Yawei Liu, Fan Wang or Kai Liu.

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Wei, Z., Liu, Y., Wang, F. et al. Rare-earth Nanomaterials for Potential Brain Disease Theranostics. Chem. Res. Chin. Univ. 39, 545–556 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40242-023-3125-y

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