Surface modification on rare-earth doped ceramic nanophosphors via ligand exchange method for near-infrared biophotonics

Abstract

The surface of NaYF4 NPs were successfully modified via stepwise modification procedure, ligand exchange and electrostatic adsorption reactions. The obtained PEGylated NaYF4 NPs showed high dispersion stability under physiological conditions. Furthermore, the PEGylated NaYF4 NPs displayed minimal cell cytotoxicity in the range of general criteria of RED-CNPs concentration for live cell imaging. Therefore, the obtained PEGylated NaYF4 NPs is a promising candidate of NIR imaging probes.