Biocompatible Chitosan-Functionalized Upconverting Nanocomposites

Hau Van Duong; Trang The Lieu Chau; Nhan Thi Thanh Dang; Frankie Vanterpool; Manuel Salmerón-Sánchez; Erlantz Lizundia; Hoa Thai Tran; Long Viet Nguyen; Thanh-Dinh Nguyen

doi:10.1021/acsomega.7b01355

Biocompatible Chitosan-Functionalized Upconverting Nanocomposites

ACS Omega. 2018 Jan 31;3(1):86-95. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.7b01355. Epub 2018 Jan 4.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Hue University of Sciences, Hue University, 77 Nguyen Hue, Hue 530000, Vietnam.
² Department of Chemistry, Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry, Hue University, 102 Phung Hung, Hue 530000, Vietnam.
³ Department of Chemistry, Hue University of Education, Hue University, 34 Le Loi, Hue 530000, Vietnam.
⁴ Division of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, U.K.
⁵ Department of Graphic Design and Engineering Projects, Bilbao Faculty of Engineering, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Bilbao 48013, Spain.
⁶ Ceramics and Biomaterials Research Group and Faculty of Applied Sciences, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City 71000, Vietnam.
⁷ Department of Chemistry, University of British Columbia, 2036 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1, Canada.

Abstract

Simultaneous integration of photon emission and biocompatibility into nanoparticles is an interesting strategy to develop applications of advanced optical materials. In this work, we present the synthesis of biocompatible optical nanocomposites from the combination of near-infrared luminescent lanthanide nanoparticles and water-soluble chitosan. NaYF₄:Yb,Er upconverting nanocrystal guests and water-soluble chitosan hosts are prepared and integrated together into biofunctional optical composites. The control of aqueous dissolution, gelation, assembly, and drying of NaYF₄:Yb,Er nanocolloids and chitosan liquids allowed us to design novel optical structures of spongelike aerogels and beadlike microspheres. Well-defined shape and near-infrared response lead upconverting nanocrystals to serve as photon converters to couple with plasmonic gold (Au) nanoparticles. Biocompatible chitosan-stabilized Au/NaYF₄:Yb,Er nanocomposites are prepared to show their potential use in biomedicine as we find them exhibiting a half-maximal effective concentration (EC₅₀) of 0.58 mg mL^-1 for chitosan-stabilized Au/NaYF₄:Yb,Er nanorods versus 0.24 mg mL^-1 for chitosan-stabilized NaYF₄:Yb,Er after 24 h. As a result of their low cytotoxicity and upconverting response, these novel materials hold promise to be interesting for biomedicine, analytical sensing, and other applications.