Luminescent Carrageenan Hydrogels Containing Lanthanopolyoxometalates

authors	Fateixa, S; Carvalho, RS; Daniel-da-Silva, AL; Nogueira, HIS; Trindade, T
nationality	International
journal	EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
author keywords	Polyoxometalates; Carrageenans; Hydrogels; Lanthanides; Photochemistry; Luminescence
keywords	IN-SITU SYNTHESIS; ANTITUMORAL ACTIVITY; HYBRID MATERIALS; QUANTUM DOTS; LANTHANIDE; COMPLEXES; GELS; NANOPARTICLES; WATER; PHOTOLUMINESCENT
abstract	In this research, we investigated the use of lanthanopolyoxometalates {LnPOM, K-9[Ln(W5O18)(2)], Ln = Eu, Tb} as luminophores in thermosensitive polysaccharides such as carrageenan hydrogels. We demonstrate that the LnPOM species still show the characteristic photoluminescence bands of the Ln(III) ion when incorporated in the gel matrix. Moreover, the strength of the carrageenan hydrogels increases by increasing the amount of LnPOM added because of the effect of K+ ions as cross-linkers, but without compromising the photoluminescent behaviour. Nanoscale homogeneity is crucial regarding applications of hydrogels responsive to external stimuli. This research shows that the final LnPOM-loaded hydrogels are homogeneous as a consequence of the diffusion behaviour of the luminophore species within the gel network. Therefore, we anticipate that the association of carrageenan hydrogels to luminescent lanthanopolyoxometalates might be of great relevance for optical devices and in particular for bioimaging techniques.
publisher	WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH
issn	1434-1948
year published	2017
issue	43
beginning page	4976
ending page	4981
digital object identifier (doi)	10.1002/ejic.201700888
web of science category	Chemistry, Inorganic & Nuclear
subject category	Chemistry
unique article identifier	WOS:000416236700003