This study presents the synthesis of NaYF₄: Er³⁺/Yb³⁺ upconversion luminescent nanomaterials using a wet chemistry method. The role of oleic acid in influencing the size, shape, and luminescent properties of the materials was also investigated. The results showed that, at a suitable oleic acid concentration of 10⁻³ M, the obtained nanoparticles exhibited a nearly spherical morphology with diameters ranging from 150 to 250 nm and predominantly display a hexagonal (β-NaYF₄) crystalline phase. Photoluminescence measurements under 980 nm laser excitation reveal that these nanoparticles emit strong, stable luminescence with narrow emission bands characteristic of Er³⁺ transitions. Subsequently, the nanoparticles were coated with a silica shell, functionalized with amine groups, and conjugated with IgG antibodies via glutaraldehyde (GA) to form the bio-nano complex β-NaYF₄: Er³⁺/Yb³⁺@SNGA-IgG. In vitro experiments using fluorescence microscopy demonstrated that the complex effectively labels HeLa cervical cancer cells. With its robust upconversion luminescence and excellent biocompatibility, the developed nanocomplex shows promising potential for rapid pathogen detection and other biomedical applications.

We present a visual tool and facile method to detect MCF-7 breast cancer cells by using YVO₄:Eu³⁺@silica-NH-GDA-IgG bio-nanocomplexes. To obtain these complexes, YVO₄:Eu³⁺ nanoparticles with a uniform size of 10–25 nm have been prepared firstly by the hydrothermal process, followed by surface functionalization to be bio-compatible and conjugated with cancer cells. The YVO₄:Eu³⁺@silica-NH-GDA-IgG nanoparticles exhibited an enhanced red emission at 618 nm under an excitation wavelength of 355 nm and were strongly coupled with MCF-7 breast cancer cells via biological conjugation. These bio-nanocomplexes showed a superior sensitiveness for MCF-7 cancer cell labelling with a detection percentage as high as 82%, while no HEK-293A healthy cells were probed under the same conditions of in vitro experiments. In addition, the detection percentage of MCF-7 breast cancer cells increased significantly via the functionalization and conjugation of YVO₄:Eu³⁺ nanoparticles. The experimental results demonstrated that the YVO₄:Eu³⁺@silica-NH-GDA-IgG bio-nanocomplexes can be used as a promising labelling agent for biomedical imaging and diagnostics.