Upconversion-based chiral nanoprobe for highly selective dual-mode sensing and bioimaging of hydrogen sulfide in vitro and in vivo.

Abstract

Chiral assemblies have become one of the most active research areas due to their versatility, playing an increasingly important role in bio-detection, imaging and therapy. In this work, chiral UCNPs/Cu_xOS@ZIF nanoprobes are prepared by encapsulating upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) and Cu_xOS nanoparticles (NPs) into zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8). The novel excited-state energy distribution-modulated upconversion nanostructure (NaYbF₄@NaYF₄: Yb, Er) is selected as the fluorescence source and energy donor for highly efficient fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). Cu_xOS NP is employed as chiral source and energy acceptor to quench upconversion luminescence (UCL) and provide circular dichroism (CD) signal. Utilizing the natural adsorption and sorting advantages of ZIF-8, the designed nanoprobe can isolate the influence of other common disruptors, thus achieve ultra-sensitive and highly selective UCL/CD dual-mode quantification of H₂S in aqueous solution and in living cells. Notably, the nanoprobe is also capable of in vivo intra-tumoral H₂S tracking. Our work highlights the multifunctional properties of chiral nanocomposites in sensing and opens a new vision and idea for the preparation and application of chiral nanomaterials in biomedical and biological analysis.