Multiwalled carbon nanotubes and NaYF4:Yb3+/Er3+ nanoparticle-doped bilayer hydrogel for concurrent NIR-triggered drug release and up-conversion luminescence tagging.

Bilayer thermosensitive P(NIPAm-co-AAm) hydrogel discs were prepared by a facile UV light initiation process from N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAm) and acrylamide (AAm) monomers' cross-linking copolymerization. Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) as a pore-forming agent was added in order to form a porous structure and improve the water content in the hydrogel. Functional materials of NaYF4:Yb(3+)/Er(3+) nanoparticles and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were incorporated into different layers of the P(NIPAm-co-AAm) hydrogel for the purpose of up-conversion luminescence labeling and the NIR light antenna effect, respectively. Significantly improved drug release from composite hydrogels was achieved in response to 980 nm NIR light irradiation by using lysozyme as a macromolecular drug. The multifunctional hydrogel reported here provides a platform for simultaneous NIR luminescence labeling and NIR-driven drug release.