Fluorescence imaging in the second near infrared window (NIR-II, 1,000-1,700 nm) has been widely used in cancer diagnosis and treatment due to its high spatial resolution and deep tissue penetration depths. In this work, recent advances in rare-earth-doped nanoparticles (RENPs)-a novel kind of NIR-II nanoprobes-are presented. The main focus of this study is on the modification of RENPs and their applications in NIR-II in vitro and in vivo imaging and cancer theranostics. Finally, the perspectives and challenges of NIR-II RENPs are discussed.
Keywords: NIR-II; cancer theranostics; in vitro and in vivo imaging; modification; rare-earth-doped nanoparticles.
Copyright © 2020 Yu, Eich and Cruz.