Luminescent biodetection based on lanthanide-doped inorganic nanoprobes

• Lanthanide-doped nanomaterials with unique optical properties are proposed as new-generation luminescent nanoprobes.
• Lanthanide-doped nanoprobes for heterogeneous or homogeneous luminescent biodetection are surveyed.
• Luminescent bioassays of a variety of analytes based on lanthanide-doped nanoprobes are reviewed.

Sensitive and selective biodetection is essential for many applications in biology and medicine, including protein purification, DNA immunoassay, early cancer diagnosis and therapeutics. Lanthanide-doped inorganic nanoprobes, emerging as an alternative to conventional molecular luminescent probes by overcoming their current limitations, have attracted a reviving interest for a variety of bioapplications due to their distinct optical properties. In this review, we focus on the most recent progress on the development of lanthanide-doped luminescent nano-bioprobes and their biodetection of model analytes, nucleic acids, ions, and disease markers both in vivo and in vitro. In particular, we highlight the typical bioconjugation strategies and detection techniques for different target analytes. Finally, some most important emerging trends and future efforts toward this rapidly growing field are also proposed.

The most recent progress on the development of heterogeneous and homogeneous luminescent biodetection of model analytes, nucleic acids, ions, and disease markers based on lanthanide-doped inorganic nanoprobes has been comprehensively reviewed.Figure optionsDownload high-quality image (137 K)Download as PowerPoint slide