Luminescent LuVO4:Ln3+ (Ln=Eu, Sm, Dy, Er) hollow porous spheres for encapsulation of biomolecules

Abstract In this study, LuVO4:Ln3+ (Ln = Eu, Sm, Dy, Er) hollow porous spheres, synthesized via self-sacrificing templated route, are developed for enzyme immobilization and protein adsorption. The four LuVO4 hollow spheres with diameter of 180 nm, 280 nm, 370 nm and 480 nm were obtained. The size of LuVO4 hollow sphere is dependent on Lu(OH)CO3 template. Upon excitation by UV light, hollow LuVO4:Ln3+ (Ln = Eu, Sm, Dy, Er) spheres exhibit red (Eu3+), orange (Sm3+), yellow-green (Dy3+), and green (Er3+) emissions. The good biocompatibility of sample is validated by MTT assay. Due to structure feature and size of obtained sample, the rapid encapsulation of biomolecules within samples has been achieved. Furthermore, the hollow spheres show different biomolecules adsorption capacities at different buffer solution pH values. The release behaviors of two kinds of biomolecules (lysozyme and bovine serum albumin) are also investigated. LuVO4 hollow spheres are suitable carriers for biomolecules. The emission intensity of Eu3+ in the LuVO4:Eu3+ varies with the released amount of LYZ. This enables the monitoring of release process by the change in the luminescence intensity.