Multifunctional nanoclusters of NaYF:Yb,Er upconversion nanoparticle and gold nanorod for simultaneous imaging and targeted chemotherapy of bladder cancer.

This paper reports successful synthesis of multifunctional nanoclusters of upconversion nanoparticle (UCNP) and gold nanorod (AuNR) through a PEGylation process. UCNPs emit visible luminescence under near-infrared excitation, producing high-contrast images with no background fluorescence. When coupled with AuNRs, the resulting UCNP-AuNR multifunctional nanoclusters are capable of simultaneous detection and treatment of bladder cancer.