Design and biomedical application of Cr3+-doped gallate near-infrared persistent luminescence nanoprobes

[Display omitted] •Summarizing the Cr3+-doped gallate near-infrared persistent luminescence nanoprobes for biomedical application.•Introducing the synthesis and modification strategies of the nanoprobes.•Summarizing their applications in biodetection and bioimaging.•Collecting the research achievements of the nanoprobes for imaging-guided treatment of tumors and bacterial infection.•Proposing their challenges and perspectives. Near-infrared (NIR) persistent luminescence nanoparticles (PLNPs) can generate persistent luminescence (PersL) for several seconds or even a couple days after stopping excitation. In particular, Cr3+-doped gallate near-infrared persistent luminescence nanoprobes have gained widespread attention in biomedical fields due to the advantages of no background autofluorescence interference, higher sensitivity, and deeper tissue penetration. In this review, we systematically summarize the research progress in the synthesis methods and surface functionalization strategies of Cr3+-doped gallate NIR PLNPs and their biomedical application including biodetection, bioimaging, and therapy. In particular, we provide a summary of the Cr3+-doped gallate NIR PLNPs for tumors or bacterial infection single-modal imaging, dual-modal imaging and multi-modal imaging. In addition, we also introduce the research achievements on the NIR PersL imaging-guided treatment of tumors and bacterial infection, like single-modal and multi-modal. Finally, we introduce the challenges and perspectives of the Cr3+-doped gallate NIR PLNPs in clinical biomedical applications.