0000000000293595
AUTHOR
Stanislav Baluschev
Ceria/polymer nanocontainers for high-performance encapsulation of fluorophores
We report the synthesis of high-performance organic–inorganic hybrid fluorescent nanocapsules comprising a polymer shell armored with an inorganic layer and a liquid core containing a fluorophore. The polymeric capsules are synthesized by free radical miniemulsion polymerization and contain covalently bound carboxylate surface functionalities that allow for the binding of metal ions through electrostatic interaction. A cerium(IV) oxide nanoparticle layer, formed in situ at the surface of the hybrid nanocapsules, acts as oxygen scavenger and keeps external reactive molecular oxygen from entering into the capsules, eventually resulting in a reduction of the photooxidation of encapsulated fluo…
Temperature Sensing in Cells Using Polymeric Upconversion Nanocapsules
Monitoring local temperature inside cells is crucial when interpreting biological activities as enhanced cellular metabolism leads to higher heat production and is commonly correlated with the presence of diseases such as cancer. In this study, we report on polymeric upconversion nanocapsules for potential use as local nanothermometers in cells by exploiting the temperature dependence of the triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion phenomenon. Nanocapsules synthesized by the miniemulsion solvent evaporation technique are composed of a polymer shell and a liquid core of rice bran oil, hosting triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion active dyes as sensitizer and emitter molecules. The sens…