Gold coating of rare earth nano-phosphors and uses thereof
View Patent ↗Novel core-shell nanoparticles comprising a phosphorescent core and metal shell as well as methods of synthesizing and using said core-shell nanoparticles are provided. In a preferred embodiment, the phosphorescent core comprises an upconverting phosphor and the shell comprises gold.
1. A nanoparticle comprising a phosphorescent core comprising NaYF 4 and a gold shell, wherein the nanoparticle is doped with either Yb 3+ and Er 3+ , or Yb 3+ and Tm 3+ , and wherein the nanoparticle further comprises a distinct magnetic component.
2. The nanoparticle of claim 1 further comprising a fluorescent tag.
3. The nanoparticle of claim 1 wherein said phosphorescent core comprises said magnetic component.
4. The nanoparticle of claim 1 wherein said magnetic component comprises Fe 3 O 4 .
5. The nanoparticle of claim 1 , wherein the gold shell has a thickness of 4-8nm.