TY  - JOUR
A1  - Bastian, Philipp U.
A1  - Robel, Nathalie
A1  - Schmidt, Peter
A1  - Schrumpf, Tim
A1  - Günter, Christina
A1  - Roddatis, Vladimir
A1  - Kumke, Michael U.
T1  - Resonance energy transfer to track the motion of lanthanide ions
BT  - what drives the intermixing in core-shell upconverting nanoparticles?
JF  - Biosensors : open access journal
N2  - The imagination of clearly separated core-shell structures is already outdated by the fact, that the nanoparticle core-shell structures remain in terms of efficiency behind their respective bulk material due to intermixing between core and shell dopant ions. In order to optimize the photoluminescence of core-shell UCNP the intermixing should be as small as possible and therefore, key parameters of this process need to be identified. In the present work the Ln(III) ion migration in the host lattices NaYF4 and NaGdF4 was monitored. These investigations have been performed by laser spectroscopy with help of lanthanide resonance energy transfer (LRET) between Eu(III) as donor and Pr(III) or Nd(III) as acceptor. The LRET is evaluated based on the Forster theory. The findings corroborate the literature and point out the migration of ions in the host lattices. Based on the introduced LRET model, the acceptor concentration in the surrounding of one donor depends clearly on the design of the applied core-shell-shell nanoparticles. In general, thinner intermediate insulating shells lead to higher acceptor concentration, stronger quenching of the Eu(III) donor and subsequently stronger sensitization of the Pr(III) or the Nd(III) acceptors. The choice of the host lattice as well as of the synthesis temperature are parameters to be considered for the intermixing process.
KW  - upconversion nanoparticles
KW  - lanthanoid migration
KW  - lanthanides
KW  - core-shell
KW  - energy transfer
Y1  - 2021
U6  - https://doi.org/10.3390/bios11120515
SN  - 2079-6374
VL  - 11
IS  - 12
PB  - MDPI
CY  - Basel
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Schimka, Selina
A1  - Klier, Dennis Tobias
A1  - de Guerenu, Anna Lopez
A1  - Bastian, Philipp
A1  - Lomadze, Nino
A1  - Kumke, Michael Uwe
A1  - Santer, Svetlana
T1  - Photo-isomerization of azobenzene containing surfactants induced by near-infrared light using upconversion nanoparticles as mediator
JF  - Journal of physics : Condensed matter
N2  - Here we report on photo-isomerization of azobenzene containing surfactants induced during irradiation with near-infrared (NIR) light in the presence of upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) acting as mediator. The surfactant molecule consists of charged head group and hydrophobic tail with azobenzene group incorporated in alkyl chain. The azobenzene group can be reversible photo-isomerized between two states: trans- and cis- by irradiation with light of an appropriate wavelength. The trans-cis photo-isomerization is induced by UV light, while cis-trans isomerization proceeds either thermally in darkness, or can be accelerated by exposure to illumination with a longer wavelength typically in a blue/green range. We present the application of lanthanide doped UCNPs to successfully switch azobenzene containing surfactants from cis to trans conformation in bulk solution using NIR light. Using Tm-3(+) or Er-3(+) as activator ions, the UCNPs provide emissions in the spectral range of 450 nm < lambda(em) < 480 nm (for Tm-3(+), three and four photon induced emission) or 525 nm < lambda(em) < 545 nm (for Er-3(+), two photon induced emission), respectively. Especially for UCNPs containing Tm-3(+) a good overlap of the emissions with the absorption bands of the azobenzene is present. Under illumination of the surfactant solution with NIR light (lambda(ex) = 976 nm) in the presence of the Tm-3(+)-doped UCNPs, the relaxation time of cis-trans photo-isomerization was increased by almost 13 times compared to thermally induced isomerization. The influence of thermal heating due to the irradiation using NIR light was shown to be minor for solvents not absorbing in NIR spectral range (e.g. CHCl3) in contrast to water, which shows a distinct absorption in the NIR.
KW  - upconversion nanoparticles
KW  - azobenzene containing surfactants
KW  - kinetic of cis-trans isomerization
Y1  - 2019
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-648X/aafcfa
SN  - 0953-8984
SN  - 1361-648X
VL  - 31
IS  - 12
PB  - IOP Publ. Ltd.
CY  - Bristol
ER  -