Biolabeling with nanoparticles based on Y2O3: Nd3+ and luminescence detection in the near-infrared

Neodymium based fluorescence presents several advantages in comparison to conventional rare earth or enzyme–substrate based fluorescence emitting sources (e.g.Tb, HRP) . Based on this fact we have herein explored a Nd-based fluoroimmunoassay. We efficiently detected the presence of an oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) in human plasma a well-known marker for cardiovascular diseases, which causes around 30% of deaths worldwide. Conventional fluoroimmunoassay uses time-resolved luminescence techniques, with detection in the visible range, to eliminate the fluorescence background from the biological specimens. By using an immunoassay based on functionalized Y2O3:Nd3+ nanoparticles, where the excitation and emission processes in the Nd3+ ion occur in the near-infrared (NIR) region, we have succeeded in eliminating the interferences from the biological fluorescence background, avoiding the use of time-resolved techniques. This yields higher emission intensity from the Nd3+-nanolabels and efficient detection of anti-oxidized low-density lipoproteins (anti-oxLDL) by Y2O3:Nd3+-antibody–antigen conjugation, leading to a novel biolabeling method.