Topic details
| Topic | Protective coatings of upconverting lanthanide-based nanoparticles against their disintegration and aggregation |
|---|---|
| Supervisor | Vitalii Patsula, Ph.D. |
| Consultant | MSc. Daniel Horák, Ph.D. |
| Department | Polymer Particles |
| Description | The lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) represent a novel class of luminescent materials that recently received a great deal of attention as a promising candidate for various bioapplications, such as in vivo imaging, drug delivery, photodynamic therapy, etc. In contrast to traditional fluorescent materials, UCNP possess advantages, such as ability to convert low-energy NIR photons into a higher energy visible light photon, high signal-to-noise ratio, excellent photostability, low autofluorescence, and low photodamage to biological tissues. However, the significant drawback of naked UCNPs consists in so called “dark” cytotoxicity, mainly due to a partial dissolution and subsequent release of lanthanide and fluorides ions in aqueous media. Therefore, there is a need to design robust coatings to ensure UCNP stability, prevent particle degradation and opsonization in buffers and biological fluids. Moreover, suitable modification of the nanoparticle surface with highly hydrophilic polymers bearing functional groups will be required. The aim of project is to develop chemically and colloidally stable surface-modified UCNPs that will withstand harsh conditions of biological media in order to be applicable in both diagnostics and therapy of cancer. This will include different approaches of particle surface modification with polymers, i.e., ligand exchange, miniemulsion polymerization, and/or polymer grafting. Additionally, particles will be loaded with biologically active molecules (drugs, photosensitizers) and/or imaging agents (fluorescent or inorganic labels). Obtained surface-modified particles will be characterized in terms of their chemical and colloidal stability in aqueous media at different conditions (ionic strength, pH, etc.), luminescence, morphology, structure and in vitro toxicity. Examples of biocompatible coatings include polymers, such as poly(2,3-dihydroxypropyl methacrylate), poly(carboxybetaine methacrylate), or poly(2-methyl-2-oxazoline). |
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