Nanoparticles have garnered significant attention since the advent of electron microscopy, leading to the discovery and documentation of various novel phenomena. Recently, there has been an increasing focus on exploring the potential applications of nanoparticles in the field of biomedicine. However, a substantial portion of the investigated nanoparticles exhibit either high toxicity or are produced through expensive means.
In my research, I am specifically targeting easy-to-make and low-toxicity materials. The objective is to develop nanoparticles that can be excited and emit light within the biological windows, thereby facilitating light-induced reactions within the human body or in surface-attached reagents like proteins.
To achieve this goal, novel luminescent materials were synthesized using standard nanomaterial synthesis techniques (precipitation). Subsequently, the materials underwent purification, and their light retention properties were evaluated through thermostimulated light emission measurements. The most promising materials were then coated with HRP (horseradish peroxidase) and tested for their effectiveness in luminol-H2O2 catalysis reactions. The detailed results and findings of this investigation are comprehensively discussed in the accompanying poster presentation.
Acknowledgments: This research is funded by Latvian Sciences Council Grant No. lzp-2021/1-0584. Institute of Solid-State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART².