Construction of multifunctional lanthanide-based nanoparticles Ba2LuF7: Yb/Er/Ho for in vivo dual-modal tumor imaging

In vivo multi-modal bioimaging technology has a high reputation for providing more comprehensive/accurate information and analysis, especially in cancer diagnosis and research. Considering different bioimaging capabilities, targeting ability and biocompatibility, we designed and prepared folic acid-modified Ba2LuF7: Yb3+/Er3+/Ho3+ (abbreviated as BLF@FA) with ∼9 nm size, which possessed optimized properties such as optimum upconversion luminescence, superior X-ray absorption ability, excellent tumor targeting-ability and low toxicity. More importantly, BLF@FA successfully realized in vivo tumor-targeted dual-modal imaging of upconversion luminescence (UCL) and X-Ray computed tomography (CT), which clearly identified the morphology/position of the tumor. This work not only developed a potential multifunctional bio-probe for cancer clinical diagnosis, but also provided a new idea and experimental reference for the design and manufacture of bioimaging probes.