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Luminescent Nanoparticles for Chemical Sensing and Imaging

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Reviews in Fluorescence 2016

Part of the book series: Reviews in Fluorescence ((RFLU))

Abstract

The application of molecular fluorescent probes in biological samples is often hampered by low local brightness, interferences from the chemical environment and limited photostability particularly of far red and NIR dyes. Nevertheless, various fluorescent probes are available for the staining of cells, cell membranes and organelles. In addition, in order to monitor intracellular processes and dysfunctions, probes are required that respond to ubiquitous chemical parameters regulating cellular and physical function such as pH, pO2 and Ca2+. This review is focused on the recent progress of our teams in the design, fabrication and application of photoluminescent nanoprobes for chemical sensing and imaging. Different examples are presented that highlight the diverseness of nanocarrier materials that can be applied to intracellular and also to in vivo imaging ranging from polymers to semiconductor or photon upconversion nanocrystals. In this regard, the advantages of nanoprobes compared to molecular probes are discussed. Particular attention is paid to ratiometric dual wavelength nanosensors that enable intrinsic referenced measurements. Furthermore, methods and spectroscopic tools for the characterization of the surface functionalization of nanoparticles and for quantum yield or brightness measurements will be highlighted.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the EU CMST COST Action CM1403 “The Euopean Upconversion Network” and the M-era.Net project 2179 “NANOHYPE” for financial support. M.S. thanks the DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) for a Heisenberg-Fellowship and Prof. Tero Soukka for hosting me as a FiDiPro fellow. U.R. gratefully acknowledges support from DFG (grants RE 1203/17-1 and RE 1203/12-3) and the BMBF (program KMU Nanochance; project NanoGenotox).

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  1. Division 1.10 Biophotonics, BAM Federal Institute of Materials Research and Testing, Richard-Willstätter-Str. 11, 12489, Berlin, Germany

    Michael Schäferling & Ute Resch-Genger

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  1. Michael Schäferling
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  2. Ute Resch-Genger
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Correspondence to Michael Schäferling .

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  1. Institute of Fluorescence, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    Chris D. Geddes

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Schäferling, M., Resch-Genger, U. (2017). Luminescent Nanoparticles for Chemical Sensing and Imaging. In: Geddes, C. (eds) Reviews in Fluorescence 2016. Reviews in Fluorescence. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48260-6_5

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