Biomimetic Surface Engineering of Lanthanide‐Doped Upconversion Nanoparticles as Versatile Bioprobes

Abstract
Coat of lipids: Water‐dispersible and functionalizable upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) for selective imaging of live cancer cells were synthesized. The synthetic approach involves coating the surface of the UCNPs with a monolayer of phospholipids that contain different functional groups (see picture), thus allowing for conjugation of many molecules for applications in fields such as bioinspired nanoassembly, biosensing, and biomedicine.