Synthesis of Ag-Ho, Ag-Sm, Ag-Zn, Ag-Cu, Ag-Cs, Ag-Zr, Ag-Er, Ag-Y and Ag-Co metal organic nanoparticles for UV-Vis-NIR wide-range bio-tissue imaging.

Development of materials for fluorescence imaging with a wide optical range is important for clinical applications. In this work, a solution synthesis method was used for making Ag-Ho, Ag-Sm, Ag-Zn, Ag-Cu Ag-Cs, Ag-Zr, Ag-Er, Ag-Y and Ag-Co metal organic compound nanoparticles. XRD, XPS and TEM were carried out for sample characterization. They showed broad fluorescence from the UV to NIR region. In particular, they presented near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence (800-1100 nm) when excitation light of 785 nm was used. Furthermore, a white-to-green or blue-to-white transition was observed when excitation light varied from 290 nm to 370 nm. Proof-of-concept experiments were performed via UV light (359-371 nm), blue light (450-490 nm), green light (540-552 nm) and NIR light (center wavelength = 785 nm) excitation with pig-kidney tissue samples. They showed potential for biomedical fluorescence imaging in the UV-Vis-NIR range.