Construction of a multifunctional bio-probe based on lanthanides for UCL/MR/CT multimodal imaging in vivo

Multimodal bioimaging is beneficial for clinical diagnosis and research due to the provision of comprehensive diagnostic information. However, the design of multifunctional bio-probes aggregating multiple bioimaging functions is greatly challenging. In this study, a multifunctional bio-probe based on lanthanide-based nanomaterials Sr₂GdF₇: Yb³⁺/Er³⁺/Tm³⁺(abbreviated as SGF) was developed for<i>in vivo</i>multimodal imaging by co-adopting apropos lanthanides and tuning their molar ratio. The experimental results indicate that SGF incorporates multiple excellent properties, such as 10 nm small size, optimal red-NIR region emissions, strong paramagnetism, excellent x-ray absorption ability and high biological safety. More importantly, SGF successfully realized<i>in vivo</i>multimodal imaging of upconversion luminescence, magnetic resonance and x-ray computed tomography at the animal level. Thus, SGF is expected to become a multifunctional bio-probe for clinical research/diagnosis. This research would promote the application and transformation of lanthanide fluorides nanomaterials in the field of clinical diagnosis to a certain extent.