Mesoporous silica nanoparticles prepared by organic template-driven synthesis have been successfully explored as carriers of the drug-derivate green luminescent complex of terbium (III) with the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug ketoprofen. The terbium (III) complex was synthesized by reacting ketoprofen sodium salt with terbium (III) chloride, which was further adsorbed onto the surface of mesoporous nanoparticles with a mean particle size of 47 ± 4 nm and pore size of 11 nm. The incorporation of the complex into mesoporous silica nanoparticles was tracked by the decrease in the surface area and pore size of the nanoparticles, and successfully demonstrated by substantial changes in the adsorption isotherms and thermal and vibrational spectroscopy results. The cytotoxicity assay and confocal microscopy have shown that the novel luminescent nanohybrid presents high cell viability and the characteristic terbium (III) emission can be assessed through two-photon excitation, which paves the way for bioimaging applications in nanomedicine.

The development of polymeric materials with superior electrical and/or optical properties is highly demanded for designing optical gas sensors, where conjugated polymers play an important role due to their p-electron conjugation. However, usually the low processability and high cost of these materials hinder technological applications. Here we report on a simple route to develop highly fluorescent electrospun nanofibers of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) containing low contents of polyfluorene (PFO). The PMMA_PFO nanofibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis, while the luminescence properties changes were evaluated by exposing the PMMA_PFO nanofibers to distinct volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including ethanol, toluene, tetrahydrofuran, acetone, dichloromethane, and chloroform. The changes in luminescence properties, specifically fluorescence quenching, of PMMA_PFO nanofibers were analyzed in terms of conformational changes from glassy-phase to b-phase of PFO when the nanofibers were exposed to the VOCs. The developed nanostructured platform showed a suitable response to detect chloroform, with linear responses in the concentration range from 10 to 300 ppm and from 350 to 500 ppm and limits of detection of 47.9 and 15.4 ppm, respectively. The results suggest the PMMA_PFO electrospun nanofibers are highly potential materials for optical gas sensor applications based on luminescence quenching. V C 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018, 135, 46128.

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