Europium-doped bioapatite: a new photostable biological probe, internalizable by human cells

The authors prepared at low temperatures (37°C) a novel inorganic bioprobe. It consisted of mineral nanoparticles of apatitic tricalcium phosphate doped with europium, of size, structure and composition close to those of the mineral part of calcified tissues. In contrast to organic probes which degrade rapidly (photobleaching), the red luminescence of the new probe is photostable. Moreover, this luminescence can be obtained under visible irradiation, which makes it suitable for prolonged examination of live cells. Human pancreatic epithelial cells in culture were incubated with these particles and their internalization was observed by laser scanning confocal microscopy. Transmission electron microscopy and electron microdiffraction analysis confirmed that the particles were internalized retaining their original apatitic structure. This probe may thus be of value for biovectorization.