iridium iii

light irradiation

bacterial inactivation

ros responsive

enhanced photodynamic

sc iii sc

photothermal photodynamic

imaging-guided photothermal

cell imaging

imaging photothermal

Journal of the American Chemical Society

Exploring materials that can absorb near-infrared (NIR) light to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) is necessary for many fields. Herein we show that thulium oxide nanoparticles are viable for NIR-stimulated ROS generation. This property may be related to the unique energy levels, large absorption cross section, low fluorescence emission, and ∼10-3 s lifetime of the 3H4 state of Tm ions. We further demonstrate the impact of these nanoparticles on photodynamic therapy (PDT), in which impressive tumor inhibition was recorded after exposure to either a broadband halogen lamp or an 808 nm laser. Our results may provide insight into the areas of photocatalysis, pollution treatment, and fine chemical synthesis.

Near-Infrared Light-Excited Reactive Oxygen Species Generation by Thulium Oxide Nanoparticles