NIR nanocarriers

Since Nd -sensitized UCNPs have the potential to be the next generation of luminophores, NIR nanocarriers based on 808 nm excited UCNPs are also being developed. The major strategies immobilizing the biomolecules onto the 808 nm excited UCNPs are similar to those for the 980 nm excited UCNPs mentioned above, such as using adsorbed or tethered polymers or... 

Figure 10.10 (a) In vivo near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence images of nude mice after intravenous injection of pluronic-based nanocarriers, (b) Ex vivo NIR fluorescence image of major organs B, brain S, spleen L, Aver H, heart Lm, lung K, kidney), (c) Quantification of the nanocarriers accumulated in the sacrificed brain, (d) Quantification of the nanocarriers distributed in the brain and major organs excised from the mice at 48 h post injection. ( = 3, p<0.01 Bare-NC, Chito-NC, RVG-Bare-NC vs. RVG-Chito-NC). Chito, chitosan RVG, rabies virus glycoprotein NC, nanocarrier. 

There are three main kinds of strategies for building the organic-inorganic hybrid NPs to act as NIR-triggered nanocarriers ... 

The NIR photocaging of bioactive cargos can be achieved either by direct modification of the bioactive cargo with a photolabile caging moiety, or by coating NIR-responsive polymers, NPs, or DNA onto the surface of hollow or mesoporous nanocarriers. However, to construct this kind of NIR-triggered delivery system, the chemical modifications of nanocarriers must meet a number of requirements ... 

In most cases, the as-obtained nanocarriers can release the loaded biomolecules in response to only one kind of external stimulus, such as light, pH, or temperature, and realize a monoresponsive nanochannel. However, the sensitivity of these nanocarriers is not very efficient. Even for NIR-triggered phototherapy, the effective penetration depth of NIR light is still limited to no more than 1 cm and its sensitivity and accuracy to treat tumors located deep inside the body is thus limited. Therefore, delivery systems triggered by at least two different inputs have recently been considered by researchers. Generally, in order to get dual-responsive nanocarriers, two kinds of smart materials or one material with two functional groups must be included in the same NP. For example, two kinds of responsive materials, such as PAA and PNIPAm, can be simultaneously employed in the a pH- and... 

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