TY - JOUR A1 - Grunert, B. A1 - Saatz, Jessica A1 - Hoffmann, Katrin A1 - Appler, F. A1 - Lubjuhn, Dominik A1 - Jakubowski, Norbert A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute A1 - Emmerling, Franziska A1 - Briel, A. T1 - Multifunctional rare-earth element nanocrystals for cell labeling and multimodal imaging N2 - In this work, we describe a simple solvothermal route for the synthesis of Eu3+-doped gadolinium orthovanadate nanocrystals (Eu:GdVO4−PAA) functionalized with poly(acrylic)acid (PAA), that are applicable as cell labeling probes for multimodal cellular imaging. The Eu3+ doping of the vanadate matrix provides optical functionality, due to red photoluminescence after illumination with UV light. The Gd3+ ions of the nanocrystals reduce the T1 relaxation time of surrounding water protons, allowing these nanocrystals to act as a positive MRI contrast agent with a r1 relaxivity of 1.97 mM−1 s−1. Low background levels of Eu3+, Gd3+, and V5+ in biological systems make them an excellent label for elemental microscopy by Laser Ablation (LA)-ICP-MS. Synthesis resulted in polycrystalline nanocrystals with a hydrodynamic diameter of 55 nm and a crystal size of 36.7 nm, which were further characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The multifunctional nanocrystals were subsequently used for intracellular labeling of both human adipose-derived stem cells (MSCs) and A549 (adenocarcinomic human alveolar basal epithelial) cells. KW - Bioimaging KW - Nanoparticle KW - Multimodal KW - Lanthanide PY - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsbiomaterials.8b00495 SN - 2373-9878 VL - 4 IS - 10 SP - 3578 EP - 3587 PB - ACS Publications CY - Washington, USA AN - OPUS4-46244 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -