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In vitro and in vivo investigations of upconversion and NIR emitting Gd2O3:Er3+,Yb3+ nanostructures for biomedical applications

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Abstract

The use of an “over 1000-nm near-infrared (NIR) in vivo fluorescence bioimaging” system based on lanthanide containing inorganic nanostructures emitting in the visible and NIR range under 980-nm excitation is proposed. It may overcome problems of currently used biomarkers including color fading, phototoxicity and scattering. Gd2O3:Er3+,Yb3+ nanoparticles and nanorods showing upconversion and NIR emission are synthesized and their cytotoxic behavior is investigated by incubation with B-cell hybridomas and macrophages. Surface modification with PEG-b-PAAc provides the necessary chemical durability reducing the release of toxic Gd3+ ions. NIR fluorescence microscopy is used to investigate the suitability of the nanostructures as NIR–NIR biomarkers. The in vitro uptake of bare and modified nanostructures by macrophages is investigated by confocal laser scanning microscopy. In vivo investigations revealed nanostructures in liver, lung, kidneys and spleen a few hours after injection into mice, while most of the nanostructures have been removed from the body after 24 h.

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Acknowledgment

This work was partly supported by Matching Fund Subsidy from MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology), 2006–2010 and 2009–2013. The authors thank Dr. Lionel Vayssieres (WPI Center for Materials NanoArchitectonics (MANA), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Tsukuba, Japan) for scientific discussion and provision of the zeta-potential equipment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Technologies Against Cancer (CTC), Tokyo University of Science, 2669 Yamazaki, Chiba, 278-0022, Japan

    Eva Hemmer, Hiroshi Hyodo, Hidehiro Kishimoto & Kohei Soga

  2. Division of Immunobiology, Research Institute for Biological Sciences, Tokyo University of Science, 2669 Yamazaki, Chiba, 278-0022, Japan

    Hiroyuki Takeshita, Tomoyoshi Yamano & Hidehiro Kishimoto

  3. Department of Materials Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, 2641 Yamazaki, Chiba, 278-8510, Japan

    Takanori Fujiki, Nallusamy Venkatachalam, Hiroshi Hyodo & Kohei Soga

  4. Department of Cell Biology & Applied Virology, Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Ensheimer Straße 48, 66386, St. Ingbert, Germany

    Yvonne Kohl & Karin Löw

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  1. Eva Hemmer
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  2. Hiroyuki Takeshita
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  3. Tomoyoshi Yamano
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Correspondence to Eva Hemmer.

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Hemmer, E., Takeshita, H., Yamano, T. et al. In vitro and in vivo investigations of upconversion and NIR emitting Gd2O3:Er3+,Yb3+ nanostructures for biomedical applications. J Mater Sci: Mater Med 23, 2399–2412 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10856-012-4671-x

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