The overall objectives of the NanoTBTech project are fully attained and the work carried out included: i)the design and fabrication of several luminescent nanothermometers and heater-thermometer nanostructures and the selection of the two most promising nanomaterials for in-vitro and in-vivo imaging (Eu3+/Sm3+-doped polymer-based NPs and Ag2S NPs); ii)its structural, morphological, magnetic, photothermal, optical and thermometric/thermographic characterization; iii)optimised experimental setup for light-to-heat conversion efficiency determination; iv)the use of models to validate and predict luminescent thermometers (both single ion and energy-transfer based examples); v) the functionalization/PEGylation of the NPs; vi)the biosafety, cytotoxicity, and biocompatibility evaluation (in different cell lines) of some of the particles and nanostructures developed in the project; and the implementation in vitro and in vivo (small animal level) of luminescent 2D thermal imaging and optical microscopy imaging for tumour detection and localized controlled hyperthermia in cancer cells and tumour microenvironment.
The project activities and results have been disseminated thanks to a website and logo, flyers, newsletters, participation in conferences, general public events and social media. The project led so far to 85 scientific publications in high-quality journals. These papers were published in collaboration with colleagues from institutions all over the world (more than 25 countries) and the fruitful cooperation between all the NanoTBTech partners is also illustrated in the number of co-authored publications (ca. 20%). Among the published papers, a handful of review and perspective articles about standardization in metrology and measurements were published, contributing to consolidating the research field. Besides several consortium meetings, we organized a winter school for PhD students and researchers on Luminescence Thermometry, 2 cycles of Webinars and, an Industrial Workshop.
The potential IP and the exploitation of the results resulted in 3 national (Spain,Portugal,Poland) and 2 international (USA,Brazil) patents. Potentially exploitable results are i)a new technology joining 3D imaging in the NIR spectral region and temperature mapping using the PhotonIMAGER Short Wave Infra-Red(SWIR) in vivo temperature-imager prototype of BiospaceLAB; and ii)the use of Ln3+-doped micelles as a new class of cell stain dye that can do the ordinary organelle visualization functions of typical organic dyes (eg DAPI), and at the same time yields the absolute temperature of the targeted organelle.
