Illuminating the Path to Theranostics with Rare Earth Nanoparticles

Since first reported, luminescent rare earth doped nanoparticles have attracted a great deal of interest. In the last decade, however, the field has rapidly taken off, progressing from the basic understanding of the photophysical properties governing their nanoscale luminescence, in particular upconversion, to their use in a plethora of applications, with considerable focus in biology and medicine. This interest stems primarily from the ability to stimulate these luminescent nanoparticles with near-infrared (NIR) light as well as their diverse emission wavelengths spanning the UV to the NIR. Therefore, with a single NIR excitation wavelength, it is possible to observe higher energy luminescence, known as upconversion, or single photon NIR emission (known as down-shifted luminescence). The former upconversion process proceeds through the sequential absorption of multiple NIR photons through the long-lived 4f  electronic energy states of the tri-positive rare earth ions. As a result, upconversion is several of orders more efficient than conventional multiphoton absorption processes. This is especially interesting for applications in theranostics (therapy + diagnostics on the same platform) where the upconverted light can be used to trigger another light activated modality (therapy) while the NIR luminescence can be used for bioimaging and nanothermometry (diagnostics). Here, we present our work on the synthesis and development of various NIR excited (and emitting) core/shell rare earth doped nanostructures/nanoplatforms and demonstrate how their various emissions could be harnessed for applications in theranostics and nanomedicine.

Biography

Fiorenzo Vetrone is Full Professor (Professeur Titulaire) at Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), Centre Énergie, Matériaux et Télécommunications, Université du Québec and Co-Director of the Quebec Centre for Advanced Materials (QCAM)/Centre québécois sur les matériaux fonctionnels (CQMF). Dr. Vetrone is a pioneer in the field of rare earth doped upconverting nanoparticles, publishing the first paper in the field. He has published papers in prestigious, high impact, peer-reviewed publications with a number of ISI Highly Cited Papers. He has given more than 200 invited, keynote, and plenary lectures at prestigious conferences and meetings as well as seminars at universities, research institutions and summer schools around the world. Moreover, he has won several prestigious awards from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada, International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), the Royal Society (UK), ASM International, etc. He was also awarded the Gladiatore D’Oro from the Province of Benevento (Italy), the Keith Laidler Award from the Canadian Society for Chemistry recognizing outstanding early-career contributions to physical chemistry, for research carried out in Canada, by a scientist residing in Canada, and the W. Lash Miller Award from the Electrochemical Society for excellence in the field of solid-state science and technology. He was also awarded the Rutherford Memorial Medal in Chemistry from the Royal Society of Canada for outstanding research in chemistry. He was an elected member of the Global Young Academy and is currently a Member of the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists of the Royal Society of Canada, Canada’s national system of multidisciplinary recognition for the emerging generation of Canadian intellectual leadership. In 2022, he was named Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering and Distinguished Fellow of the International Engineering and Technology Institute.