Quench-Shield Ratiometric Upconversion Luminescence Nanoplatform for Biosensing.

Upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) possess several unique features, but they suffer from surface quenching effects caused by the interaction between the UCNPs and fluorophore. Thus, the use of UCNPs for target-induced emission changes for biosensing and bioimaging has been challenging. In this work, fluorophore and UCNPs are effectively separated by a silica transition layer with a thickness of about 4 nm to diminish the surface quenching effect of the UCNPs, allowing a universal and efficient luminescence resonance energy transfer (LRET) ratiometric upconversion luminescence nanoplatform for biosensing applications. A pH-sensitive fluorescein derivative and Hg(2+)-sensitive rhodamine B were chosen as fluoroionphores to construct the LRET nanoprobes. Both showed satisfactory target-triggered ratiometric upconversion luminescence responses in both solution and live cells, indicating that this strategy may find wide applications in the design of nanoprobes for various biorelated targets.