TY - JOUR A1 - Arai, Marylyn Setsuko A1 - Ravaro, Leandro Piaggi A1 - Brambilla, Gabriel A1 - Maia, Lauro June Queiroz A1 - Reza Dousti, Mohammad A1 - de Camargo, Andrea Simone Stucchi T1 - Upconverting Nanoparticles and Cu(I) Complex-Based Platform for Oxygen Sensing, Thermometry, and Emission Color Tuning N2 - Multifunctional nanoplatforms combine different material properties to meet a wide range of applications, allowing highly customizable systems. In this rapidly advancing research field, we introduce a multifunctional nanomaterial based on the synergy between Tm3+-doped upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) and a Cu(I) complex (CuCom). This material is designed for oxygen sensing, optical thermometry, and emission color tuning. In various concentrations, the CuCom complex was electrostatically integrated into a mesoporous silica shell surrounding the core UCNPs (UCNP@mSiO2). The optimized system, UCNP@mSiO2@CuCom-10, was evaluated for different applications. Due to the spectral overlap between the CuCom absorption and the nanoparticles emission, excitation at 980 nm allows most of the UV-blue emission output from the UCNPs to be transferred to the CuCom via luminescent resonance energy transfer (LRET), producing red emission from the molecule. The remaining Tm3+ emission enables optical thermometry, while CuCom’s sensitivity to molecular oxygen supports its application in gas sensing. In upconversion mode, the nanoplatform achieved a Stern−Volmer constant for O2 sensing of 1.64 and demonstrated thermometric relative sensitivities of 0.9% and 1% K−1 at room temperature, with a linear response from 193 to 373 K. Additionally, the emission color of UCNP@mSiO2@CuCom-10 can be tuned from blue to white and yellow, by varying the excitation and temperature, adding further functionality to the system. This multifunctional platform suggests promising applications in biology, medicine, and environmental monitoring. KW - M KW - O2 sensing KW - Upconversion KW - Luminescence resonance energy transfer (LRET) KW - Optical thermometry KW - Mesoporous silica shell PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-625869 SN - 2574-0970 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.4c06351 VL - 8 SP - 854 EP - 862 PB - American Chemical Society (ACS) AN - OPUS4-62586 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Arai, Marylyn Setsuko A1 - Kim, Hyunho A1 - Pascavis, Madeleine A1 - Cha, Baekdong A1 - Brambilla, Gabriel A1 - Cho, Young Kwan A1 - Park, Jinho A1 - Vilela, Raquel R. C. A1 - de Camargo, Andrea S. S. A1 - Castro, Cesar M. A1 - Lee, Hakho T1 - Upconverting Nanoparticle-based Enhanced Luminescence Lateral-Flow Assay for Urinary Biomarker Monitoring N2 - Development of efficient portable sensors for accurately detecting biomarkers is crucial for early disease diagnosis, yet remains a significant challenge. To address this need, we introduce the enhanced luminescence lateral-flow assay, which leverages highly luminescent upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) alongside a portable reader and a smartphone app. The sensor’s efficiency and versatility were shown for kidney health monitoring as a proof of concept. We engineered Er3+- and Tm3+-doped UCNPs coated with multiple layers, including an undoped inert matrix shell, a mesoporous silica shell, and an outer layer of gold (UCNP@mSiO2@Au). These coatings synergistically enhance emission by over 40-fold and facilitate biomolecule conjugation, rendering UCNP@mSiO2@Au easy to use and suitable for a broad range of bioapplications. Employing these optimized nanoparticles in lateral-flow assays, we successfully detected two acute kidney injury-related biomarkers-kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1) and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL)-in urine samples. Using our sensor platform, KIM-1 and NGAL can be accurately detected and quantified within the range of 0.1 to 20 ng/mL, boasting impressively low limits of detection at 0.28 and 0.23 ng/mL, respectively. Validating our approach, we analyzed clinical urine samples, achieving biomarker concentrations that closely correlated with results obtained via ELISA. Importantly, our system enables biomarker quantification in less than 15 min, underscoring the performance of our novel UCNP-based approach and its potential as reliable, rapid, and user-friendly diagnostics. KW - Biosensor KW - Upconverting nanoparticles KW - Lateral flow KW - Portable sensor KW - Kidney injury PY - 2024 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.4c06117 SN - 1944-8244 VL - 16 IS - 29 SP - 38243 EP - 38251 PB - American Chemical Society (ACS) AN - OPUS4-60689 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Arai, Marylyn S. A1 - Brambilla, Gabriel V. A1 - Corrêa, Bruna Carolina A1 - Merízio, Leonnam G. A1 - Inada, Natalia M. A1 - de Camargo, Andrea S. S. T1 - A Dual-Mode “Turn-On” Ratiometric Luminescent Sensor Based on Upconverting Nanoparticles for Detection and Differentiation of Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacteria N2 - Infectious bacterial diseases, intensified by antibiotic resistance, cause millions of deaths annually and pose risks beyond human health, including water and food contamination. Current diagnostics are often slow, require complex equipment, and lack specificity, highlighting the need for rapid and reliable detection methods. To address this, we developed a luminescent sensor based on NaYF4 upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) doped with Er3+ or Tm3+, coated with COOH-PEG4-COOH, and functionalized with vancomycin (Van) or polymyxin-B (Poly) to selectively target Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, respectively. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) served as quenchers, enabling a ratiometric “turn-on” mechanism: upon bacterial binding, the UCNP emission, initially quenched by AuNPs, was partially restored. This allowed Differentiation through changes in the green/red (G/R) ratio for Er-UCNP@PEG4-Van and the blue/red (B/R) ratio for Tm-UCNP@PEG4-Poly. The sensor distinguished between Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria over a wide concentration range (0.05 to 5 × 105 CFU/mL) and showed high correlation with actual bacterial counts (r = 0.99 for S. aureus, r = 0.91 for E. coli). This platform is a potential fast, selective, and reliable tool for bacterial detection in clinical and environmental settings. KW - Lminescent sensor KW - Upconverting nanoparticles KW - Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria KW - Ratiometric luminescent sensors PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-652785 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.5c07006 SN - 2470-1343 VL - 10 IS - 39 SP - 46040 EP - 46050 PB - American Chemical Society (ACS) AN - OPUS4-65278 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -