Efficient and selective singlet oxygen sensitized NIR luminescence of a neodymium(III) complex and its application in biological imaging

Abstract A responsive neodymium NIR emission ( 4 F 3/2 → 4 I 11/2, 9/2 ) was recorded upon binding with singlet oxygen ( K B =1.79×10 6  M −1 ) via the anthracene moiety. The motif ytterbium analog served as a negative control with no significant NIR enhancement/quenching with the addition of the same amount of singlet oxygen. Our complex was also found to react with 1 O 2 generated by a known photosensitizer TMPyP inside HeLa cells without inducing cell death and display no significant cytotoxicity.