Development of rare earth tantalates doped with lanthanide ions for multimodal bioimaging and nanothermometry

• Grant number: 23/13509-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: January 01, 2024
• End date: December 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Inorganic Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Rogéria Rocha Gonçalves
• Grantee: Fernanda Hediger Borges Ribeiro
• Supervisor: Verelst Marc Raoul Joseph
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Centre d'Elaboration des Matériaux et d'Etudes Structurales (CEMES), France
• Associated to the scholarship: 20/00277-6 - Development of nanoparticulate materials of lanthanide-doped rare earth tantalates for applications in Photonics, BP.DR

Abstract

Bio-imaging is a very important tool used to study biological phenomena and diagnose certain diseases and the growing demand for more efficient and reliable image detection has become an important topic of research. In this sense, the aim of this research project is to prepare luminescent nanoparticles based on rare earth tantalates doped with lanthanide ions (Ln3+), in order to obtain multifunctional materials that can act in Photonics and Biophotonics. The materials were prepared using the polyol-mediated process, from alkoxide precursors, with which morphological control is obtained. The focus of this work is the study of structural and spectroscopic properties and the materials synthesized could be applied in areas of Photonics and Biophotonics, especially in the health sector, acting as optical markers and energy converters for potential application in Theranostics.For the doping of the materials studied, lanthanides with emission in the so-called biological transparency windows in the near infrared region were used (Er3+/Yb3+, Tm3+/Yb3+), since one of the main purposes of this work is their application in biological systems. Luminescence in the visible region is also being studied in view of the great emission potential resulting from upconversion processes, making it possible to apply them as converters of radiation from the infrared to the visible emission. Nanothermometry performance will also be systematically evaluated by predicting the absolute temperature through the Boltzmann distribution law, from the ratio of 2H11/2 ’ 4I15/2 and 4S3/2 ’ 4I15/2 transitions of Er3+ ions.To this end, a systematic study of the optical, structural, morphological and spectroscopic (vibrational and electronic) properties is in progress, with the perspective of improving and optimizing these properties for later technological applications, especially as multimodal probes. For this, the multimodal imaging ability of these nanoparticles will be tested in different imaging techniques, such as Magnetic Resonance (MR), X-ray Computed Tomography (CT), Photoacoustic (PA), and Optical Imaging (OI).

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

BORGES, FERNANDA HEDIGER; MAURICOT, ROBERT; NEUMEYER, DAVID; DE SOUZA, VITOR DOS SANTOS; VERELST, MARC; GONCALVES, ROGERIA ROCHA. Yb 3+concentration influence on NIR and upconversion emission and temperature sensing properties of Er 3+/Yb 3+co-doped Ta 2 O 5 particles. Journal of Luminescence, v. 273, p. 12-pg., 2024-05-11. (20/00277-6, 20/05319-9, 23/13509-0, 21/08111-2)