Heterogeneous core/shell fluoride nanocrystals with enhanced upconversion photoluminescence for in vivo bioimaging

We report on heterogeneous core/shell CaF2:Yb(3+)/Ho(3+)@NaGdF4 nanocrystals of 17 nm with efficient upconversion (UC) photoluminescence (PL) for in vivo bioimaging. Monodisperse core/shell nanostructures were synthesized using a seed-mediated growth process involving two quite different approaches of liquid-solid-solution and thermal decomposition. They exhibit green emission with a sharp band around 540 nm when excited at ∼980 nm, which is about 39 times brighter than the core CaF2:Yb(3+)/Ho(3+) nanoparticles. PL decays at 540 nm revealed that such an enhancement arises from efficient suppression of surface-related deactivation from the core nanocrystals. In vivo bioimaging employing water-dispersed core/shell nanoparticles displayed high contrast against the background.