Architecture Control of Rare Earth Doped Nanoparticles: Towards Theranostic Applications
Dr. Fiorenzo Vetrone
(Institute National de la Recherche Scientifique)

ABSTRACT:  Luminescent nanomaterials that can be excited, as well as emit, in the near-infrared (NIR) have been investigated for use in a plethora of applications including nanomedicine, nanoelectronics, biosensing, bioimaging, photovoltaics, photocatalysis, etc. The use of NIR light for excitation mitigates some of the drawbacks associated with high-energy (UV or blue) excitation, for example, little to no background autofluorescence from the specimen under investigation as well as no incurred photodamage. Moreover, one of the biggest limitations is of course, that of penetration. As such, NIR light can penetrate tissues much better than high-energy light especially when these wavelengths lie within the three biological windows (BW-I: 700-950, BW-II: 1000-1350, BW-III: 1550-1870 nm) where tissues are optically transparent. At the forefront of NIR excited nanomaterials are rare earth doped nanoparticles, which due to their 4f electronic energy states can undergo conventional (Stokes) luminescence and emit in the three NIR biological windows. However, unlike other classes of nanoparticles, they can also undergo a multiphoton upconversion process where the NIR excitation light is converted to higher energies resulting in anti-Stokes luminescence spanning the UV-visible-NIR regions. Perhaps the biggest impact of such materials would be in the field of disease diagnostics and therapeutics, now commonly referred to as theranostics. Due to the versatility of their optical properties, it now becomes possible to generate high-energy light (UV or blue) in situ to trigger other light activated therapeutic modalities (i.e. drug release) while using the NIR emission for diagnostics (i.e. bioimaging, nanothermometry). Here, we present the synthesis of various NIR excited (and emitting) rare earth doped core/shell (and multishell) nanoparticles and demonstrate how their luminescence properties can be exploited for potential use in diverse biomedical applications. Finally, we will demonstrate that the intelligent combination of rare earth doped nanoparticles with other different optically stimulated materials can allow for the engineering of new multifunctional nanostructures.

BIO:  Dr. Fiorenzo Vetrone is currently Full Professor at Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique, Centre Énergie, Matériaux et Télécommunications (INRS-EMT), Université du Québec. He was appointed Assistant Professor of Nanobiotechnology in October 2010 to develop an ambitious and vigorous research programme at the vanguard of nanomaterials research and their implementation in the life sciences and nanomedicine. His research interests are focused on the synthesis new luminescent nanostructures and their application in a number of fields. Dr. Vetrone has published over 100 papers in prestigious, high impact, peer-reviewed publications such as Science, Journal of the American Chemical Society, Nano Letters, ACS Nano, Chemistry of Materials, Advanced Materials, Advanced Functional Materials, Nanoscale, Small, etc. with a number of ISI Highly Cited Papers. He has given well over 120 invited lectures at prestigious conferences, universities and summer schools around the world. Moreover, he has won a number of awards from NSERC, IUPAC, the Royal Society (UK), ASM International, the provinces of Benevento (Italy) and Shandong (China), etc. and is an elected member of the Global Young Academy.

Dr. Vetrone is the guest of Dr. Louis Cuccia