Morphology-dependent fluorescence of europium-doped cerium oxide nanomaterials.

Europium-doped CeO nanomaterials have been investigated for a variety of sensing and biological applications, as doping enhances the catalytic activity of CeO and contributes visible fluorescence to the nanomaterial. However, scant evidence is available that directly compares Eu fluorescence from multiple morphologies establishing useful correlation(s) between physical and optical trends in such structures. To address this shortcoming, Eu-doped CeO nanorods, nanowires, nanocubes, and annealed nanorods were synthesized and characterized, representing a range of crystalline defect sizes, defect concentrations, and surface moieties.

Rare-Earth-Doped Cerium Oxide Nanocubes for Biomedical Near-Infrared and Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence provides a new avenue for biomedical fluorescence imaging that allows for the tracking of fluorophore through several centimeters of biological tissue. However, such fluorophores are rare and, due to accumulation-derived toxicity, are often restricted from clinical applications. Deep tissue imaging not only provided by near-infrared fluorophores but also conventionally carried out by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT) is also hampered by the toxicity of the contrast agents.