(441c) Go with the Glow – Persistent Luminescence Nanosensors for pH, Oxygen, and Ion Quantification in Complex Samples

Nanoparticle-based fluorescent sensors for tracking biological markers enable spatial and temporal tracking of analytes, revealing nutrient gradients, changes in signaling compounds, and other physiological phenomena. However, they suffer from interference from background fluorescence in optically complex samples – something present in most biological systems.

While there are many approaches to avoiding background fluorescence interference, one approach is to use persistent luminescence – “glow-in-the-dark”. In this work, we synthesized near-infrared emitting ZnGa₂O₄:Cr³⁺ persistent luminescence nanoparticles (PLNPs) as a glow-in-the-dark source to incorporate into our established polymeric nanosensor platform. We combined these PLNPs with sensing components for a range of analytes (pH, oxygen, sodium, potassium, or calcium) to generate functional nanocomposites to sense these analytes in complex biological systems (including serum and yeast fermentation). In short, these nanosensors have the ability to glow with luminescence lifetimes orders of magnitude longer than biological background signals, enabling function even in optically complex samples.