Mesoporous Multifunctional Upconversion Luminescent and Magnetic “Nanorattle” Materials for Targeted Chemotherapy

Nanorattles consisting of hydrophilic, rare-earth-doped NaYF4 shells each containing a loose magnetic nanoparticle were fabricated through an ion-exchange process. The inner magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles are coated with a SiO2 layer to avoid iron leaching in acidic biological environments. This multifunctional mesoporous nanostructure with both upconversion luminescent and magnetic properties has excellent water dispersibility and a high drug-loading capacity. The material emits visible luminescence upon NIR excitation and can be directed by an external magnetic field to a specific target, making it an attractive system for a variety of biological applications. Measurements on cells incubated with the nanorattles show them to have low cytotoxicity and excellent cell imaging properties. In vivo experiments yield highly encouraging tumor shrinkage with the antitumor drug doxorubicin (DOX) and significantly enhanced tumor targeting in the presence of an applied magnetic field.