Issue 44, 2016

A facile approach to upconversion crystalline CaF2:Yb3+,Tm3+@mSiO2 nanospheres for tumor therapy

Abstract

A new facile approach, namely chemical-assisted sol–gel growth (CASGG), was successfully developed to induce the formation of fine CaF2:Yb3+,Tm3+ nanocrystals within the pore channels of mesoporous silica (mSiO2) nanoparticles. A series of upconversion photoluminescent crystalline CaF2:Yb3+,Tm3+@mSiO2 nanospheres with controlled diameters from ∼65 nm to ∼290 nm were fabricated. All nanospheres presented sound cyto-compatibility and unique ratiometric spectral monitoring functionalities for drug release kinetics. The nanospheres with smallest dimension (UCNP-2.5, ∼65 nm) induced the most sustained DOX release kinetics. More importantly, the in vitro study demonstrated that the DOX loaded UCNP-2.5 nanospheres presented the strongest anti-cancer efficacy to MCF-7 human breast cancer cells due to its stronger penetration ability to cell nuclei due to the size effect.

Graphical abstract: A facile approach to upconversion crystalline CaF2:Yb3+,Tm3+@mSiO2 nanospheres for tumor therapy

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
16 Feb 2016
Accepted
11 Apr 2016
First published
13 Apr 2016

RSC Adv., 2016,6, 38365-38370

A facile approach to upconversion crystalline CaF2:Yb3+,Tm3+@mSiO2 nanospheres for tumor therapy

Y. Li, Y. Zhou, X. Li, J. Sun, Z. Ren, W. Wen, X. Yang and G. Han, RSC Adv., 2016, 6, 38365 DOI: 10.1039/C6RA04167A

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