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Yolk–Shell Upconversion Nanocomposites for LRET Sensing of Cysteine/Homocysteine

2014; American Chemical Society; Volume: 6; Issue: 14 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1021/am501249p

1944-8252

Lingzhi Zhao, Juanjuan Peng, Min Chen, Yi Liu, Liming Yao, Wei Feng, Fuyou Li,

Carbon and Quantum Dots Applications

The fabrication of lanthanide upconversion nanocomposites as probes has become a new research hotspot due to its special advantages via utilizing upconversion luminescence (UCL) as a detection signal. Herein, a hybrid organic dye modified upconversion nanophosphor is successfully developed as a nanoprobe for cysteine/homocysteine. Yolk-shell structured upconversion nanoparticles (YSUCNP) with lanthanide upconversion nanophosphor as moveable core and silica as mesoporous shell are synthesized, and a colorimetric chemodosimeter for cysteine/homocysteine is accommodated in the hollow cavities. Thus, cysteine/homocysteine can be quantitatively detected on the basis of luminescent resonance energy transfer (LRET) in a UCL turn-off pattern. The dye-loaded YSUCNP possess good dispersibility in aqueous solution; thus detection of the targeted molecule can be achieved in pure water. Cellular experiments carried out with laser-scanning upconversion luminescence microscopy further demonstrate that the dye-loaded YSUCNP can serve as an intracellular nanoprobe to detect cysteine/homocysteine. Moreover, this dye-loading protocol can be developed as a common approach to construct other chemodosimeter-modified UCNP hybrid nanoprobes, as proved by a UCL turn-on style sensor for cyanide.