Strategies for coupling photon-upconverting nanoparticles with photoactive protein therapeutics

Nanomedicine is a rapidly advancing field as capabilities in nanoscale materials, devices, and sensing grow. Biocompatible nanoparticles have made their way into the pharmaceutical and biomedical market in imaging, diagnosis, targeted drug delivery, and even repair. Similarly, protein therapeutics show promise for their unique combination of high biospecificity and diverse function. This brief perspective explores the merging of these two fields via light-controlled methods mediated by photon-upconverting nanoparticles. The framework of three photoactive protein therapeutic systems will be explored for their integration with upconverting nanoparticles.