The combination of lanthanides and nanoparticles to develop new hybrid nanomaterials has become a highly topical area of research in the field of sensing, biomedical imaging, drug delivery, etc. However, these novel nanomaterials have to be carefully designed to ensure that the unique properties conveyed by each component, i.e., lanthanide ions and nanoparticles, are maximized and not negatively affected by one another. In this Forum Article, the main advances in the design of lanthanide-based nanoparticles will be discussed, with the first part focusing on the design of gadolinium(III)-based nanoparticles and their use as magnetic resonance imaging agents. The second part will then describe the main and most recent designs of luminescent lanthanide-based nanoparticles and their applications as sensors or imaging agents, with a special emphasis on our contribution to this area.

A novel near-infrared (NIR) emissive lanthanide-based zinc sensor was designed, based on the self-assembly in aqueous solution between the nonemissive coordinatively unsaturated Yb(III) cyclen complex 2·Yb and the sulfonated 8-hydroxyquinoline (8-HQS) chromophore, which was employed as a sensitizing antenna. The resulting ternary complex, 2·Yb·8-HQS, displayed metal-centered emission in the NIR range upon excitation of the antenna with high quantum yield of Q = 0.23 ± 0.03% in pH 7.4 buffered aqueous solution; demonstrating efficient sensitization from 8-HQS. The addition of zinc led to quenching of the NIR emission as a result of the dissociation of the luminescent ternary 2·Yb·8-HQS complex, where the 8-HQS antenna was displaced from the Yb(III) center in favor of the formation of more stable chelates with Zn(II). These newly formed Zn(II) complexes were shown to exhibit strong green fluorescence; allowing for the simultaneous sensing of Zn(II) both within the visible and the NIR regions at physiological pH in competitive media. Furthermore, 2·Yb·8-HQS was shown to be able to detect Zn(II) with good selectivity and in a reversible manner, even in the presence of competitive group (I) and (II) metal ions as well as in the presence of several biologically important d-metal ions.

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The development of material‐supported molecular logic gate mimics (MGLMs) for contained application and device fabrication has become of increasing interest. Herein, we present the formation of ≈5 nm gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) that have been surface‐modified (via a thiol linkage) with heptadentate cyclen‐based complexes of europium and terbium for sensing applications using delayed lanthanide luminescence and as integrated logic gate mimics within competitive media.

Ein pH‐Indikator: Im Nahinfraroten (NIR) emittierende Lanthanoid‐funktionalisierte Gold‐Nanopartikel wurden durch Selbstorganisation zwischen einem YbIII‐Cyclen‐Komplex und Xylenolorange an der Goldoberfläche erhalten (siehe Bild). Optisches Anregen des Xylenolorange mit sichtbarem Licht (bis 600 nm) sensibilisiert die YbIII‐zentrierte NIR‐Emission, die reversibel als Funktion des pH‐Werts an‐ und ausgeschaltet werden kann.