1. A 'Plug-and-Play' Method to Prepare Water-Soluble Photoresponsive Encapsulated Upconverting Nanoparticles Containing Hydrophobic Molecular Switches
- Author
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Danielle Wilson, John-Christopher Boyer, Neil R. Branda, Tuoqi Wu, and Madeleine Barker
- Subjects
Molecular switch ,Materials science ,Quenching (fluorescence) ,General Chemical Engineering ,Nanoparticle ,Nanotechnology ,General Chemistry ,Chromophore ,Photochemistry ,Fluorescence ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Diarylethene ,chemistry ,Materials Chemistry ,Self-assembly ,Visible spectrum - Abstract
A convenient and versatile protocol to encapsulate lanthanide doped upconverting nanoparticles by an amphiphilic polymer shell containing photoresponsive diarylethene chromophores was developed. The assemblies are all water-soluble and fluoresce in the visible region of the spectrum when excited with 980 nm near-infrared light. The fluorescent emission can be selectively and reversibly modulated by alternatively irradiating the photoresponsive nanoparticles with UV light and visible light, which triggers ring-closing and ring-opening reactions of the chromophores, respectively. Fluorescence lifetime experiments suggest that the quenching mechanism is a combination of energy transfer and emission-reabsorption processes. These photoresponsive upconverting nanoparticles have the potential to advance bioimaging and other applications in nanophotonics.
- Published
- 2013