Novel Carbon-Based Magnetic Luminescent Nanocomposites for Multimodal Imaging

Fangfang Liu; Xiaoming Mou; Jimei Song; Qin Li; Jinliang Liu

doi:10.3389/fchem.2020.00611

Novel Carbon-Based Magnetic Luminescent Nanocomposites for Multimodal Imaging

Front Chem. 2020 Jul 24:8:611. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2020.00611. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Fangfang Liu¹, Xiaoming Mou², Jimei Song¹, Qin Li², Jinliang Liu²

Affiliations

¹ Shandong Peninsula Engineering Research Center of Comprehensive Brine Utilization, Weifang University of Science and Technology, Shouguang, China.
² School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China.

Abstract

Multifunctional nanocomposites can combine multiple functions into a single nanosystem and thus have attracted extensive interest in various fields. The combination of magnetic and upconversion luminescent nanoparticles into one single nanoplatform, which have a good application in biomedical fields such as bio-magnetic separation, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and optical imaging, is highly desirable. Here we reported multifunctional nanocomposites by using hollow carbon sphere to integrate magnetic Fe₃O₄ and upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) into one nanosystem. The as-prepared UCNPs/Fe₃O₄@h-C have near-infrared (NIR) luminescence under 980 nm excitation and superparamagnetism. In addition, since the carbon layer can absorb NIR light and transfer it into heat with high efficiency, the nanocomposites can realize photo thermal (PT), upconversion luminescence (UCL) and MRI tri-mode imaging. The UCNPs/Fe₃O₄@h-C might be further utilized as a potential theranostic agent, including its in-depth monitoring through luminescent imaging and MRI diagnosis, as well as its direct use in tumors as a photothermal therapy (PTT) agent.

Keywords: Fe4O3; carbon; nanocomposite; superparamagnetism; upconversion nanoparticle.