Fabrication and optical characterization of multimorphological nanostructured materials containing Eu(iii) in phosphate matrices for biomedical applications

EuPO 4 ·H 2 O nanorods/nanoparticles with a rhabdophane-type hexagonal form have been successfully synthesized using microwave assisted co-precipitation. The effects of chemical composition and pH on the size, shape, morphology and luminescence properties have been investigated by powder X-ray diffraction, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The mean size of the nanorods is about 15-30 nm in diameter and 200-400 nm in length and the size of nanoparticles is 10-20 nm. A powdered sample of these EuPO 4 ·H 2 O nanorods/nanoparticles emitted yellow-green light with narrow bands at 594, 619, 652, and 697 nm under UV-vis excitation. The surface effects of the built core-shell structure on the fluorescent properties, and the compatibility of the EuPO 4 ·H 2 O nanomaterials with a biological system, have been studied to develop a new fluorescent label for biomedical imaging. The primary test results in using a EuPO 4 ·H 2 O-Immunoglobulin G conjugate for recognizing the measles virus in a vaccine is presented. FESEM images of the EuPO 4 ·H 2 O multimorphological nanostructured material with changes in the mole ratio of Eu 3+ and PO 4 3− have been successfully synthesized using microwave assisted co-precipitation.