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NaGdF4:Yb,Er-Ag nanowire hybrid nanocomposite for multifunctional upconversion emission, optical imaging, MRI and CT imaging applications

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Abstract

The effect of novel silver nanowire encapsulated NaGdF4:Yb,Er hybrid nanocomposite on the upconversion emission and bioimaging properties has been investigated. The upconvension nanomaterials were synthesised by polyol method in the presence of ethylene glycol, PVP and ethylenediamine. The NaGdF4:Yb,Er-Ag hybrid was formed with upconverting NaGdF4:Yb,Er nanoparticles of size ~ 80 nm and silver nanowires of thickness ~ 30 nm. The surface plasmon induced by the silver ion in the NaGdF4:Yb,Er-Ag nanocomposite resulted an intense upconversion green emission at 520 nm and red emission at 660 nm by NIR diode laser excitation at 980 nm wavelength. The UV-Vis-NIR spectral absorption at 440 nm and 980 nm, the intense Raman vibrational modes and the strong upconversion emission results altogether confirm the localised surface plasmon resonance effect of silver ion in the hybrid nanocomposite. MRI study of both NaGdF4:Yb,Er nanoparticle and NaGdF4:Yb,Er-Ag nanocomposite revealed the T1 relaxivities of 22.13 and 10.39 mM−1 s−1, which are larger than the commercial Gd-DOTA contrast agent of 3.08 mM−1 s−1. CT imaging NaGdF4:Yb,Er-Ag and NaGdF4:Yb,Er respectively showed the values of 53.29 HU L/g and 39.51 HU L/g, which are higher than 25.78 HU L/g of the CT contrast agent Iobitridol. The NaGdF4:Yb,Er and NaGdF4:Yb,Er-Ag respectively demonstrated a negative zeta potential of 54 mV and 55 mV, that could be useful for biological application. The in vitro cytotoxicity of the NaGdF4:Yb,Er tested in HeLa and MCF-7 cancer cell line by MTT assay demonstrated a cell viability of 90 and 80 %, respectively. But, the cell viability of NaGdF4:Yb,Er-Ag slightly decreased to 80 and 78%. The confocal microscopy imaging showed that the UCNPs are effectively up-taken inside the nucleolus of the cancer cells, and it might be useful for NIR laser–assisted phototherapy for cancer treatment.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the support of Prof. G. N. Ramachandran Instrumentation Centre for Raman spectroscopy analysis.

Funding

The authors JS, MG and SY thank the UGC-UPE Phase-II and DST-PURSE (Government of India) research grants for the chemical and consumables grant. GNR Instrumentation Centre was established by Prof. P. Ramamurthy through the research grant from DST-PURSE Government of India at University of Madras, Chennai, India. The authors GAK and DKS would like to acknowledge the financial support from the National Science Foundation Partnerships for Research and Education in Materials (NSF-PREM) grant NO-DMR-0934218.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nuclear Physics, University of Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 600 025, India

    S. Yamini, M. Gunaseelan & J. Senthilselvan

  2. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78249, USA

    G. A. Kumar & Dhiraj K. Sardar

  3. Department of Atomic and Molecular Physics, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, 576104, India

    G. A. Kumar

  4. Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kalyanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, 208016, India

    Swati Singh & Sri Sivakumar

  5. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley, 1201 W University Dr, Edinburg, TX, 78539, USA

    Gamage Chamath Dannangoda & Karen S. Martirosyan

  6. Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Chettinad Hospital & Research Institute, Chettinad Academy of Research and Education (CARE), Kelambakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 603103, India

    Agnishwar Girigoswami

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  1. S. Yamini
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  3. G. A. Kumar
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Correspondence to J. Senthilselvan.

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Yamini, S., Gunaseelan, M., Kumar, G.A. et al. NaGdF4:Yb,Er-Ag nanowire hybrid nanocomposite for multifunctional upconversion emission, optical imaging, MRI and CT imaging applications. Microchim Acta 187, 317 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-020-04285-9

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