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By taking advantage of the efficient Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between near-infrared (NIR)-responsive lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) and Fenton reagent ferrocenyl compounds ( Fc ), a series of Fc -UCNPs was designed by functionalizing NaYF 4 :Yb,Tm nanoparticles with Fc1 - Fc5 via surface-coordination chemistry. Fc -UCNP-Lipo nanosystems were then constructed by encapsulating Fc -UCNP inside liposomes for efficient delivery. Fc -UCNP can effectively release ·OH via a NIR-promoted Fenton-like reaction. In vitro and in vivo studies of Fc1 -UCNP-Lipo confirmed the preferential accumulation in a tumor site followed by an enhanced uptake of cancer cells. After cellular internalization, the released Fc1 -UCNP can effectively promote ·OH generation for tumor growth suppression. Such a Fc1 -UCNP-Lipo nanosystem exhibits advantages such as easy fabrication, low drug dosage, and no ferrous ion release.

The iron(II) compounds [Fe(3Cn-L)2(NCS)2] (n = 6 (1), n = 8 (2), n = 10 (3), n = 12 (4), n = 14 (5), n = 16 (6), n = 18 (7), n = 20 (8), and n = 22 (9)) were synthesized and their physical properties characterized by polarizing optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and powder X-ray analysis, where 3Cn-L denotes bidentate Schiff-base ligands formed from the corresponding aniline derivatives and pyridine-2-carboxyaldehyde. The iron(II) compounds 4-8 exhibited crystal to liquid-crystal transitions at 318, 334, 345, 338, and 347 K, respectively. Variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements revealed that the compounds 1-9 exhibit spin-crossover behavior between the high-spin and low-spin states and a photoinduced spin transition from a low-spin state to a metastable high-spin state. Therefore, the iron(II) compounds 4-8 can undergo spin-crossover and photoinduced spin transition as well as have liquid-crystal properties all in a single molecule. Compounds with multifunctions are important in the development of molecular switches and optical materials.