Gadolinium (Gd) nanoparticles (NPs) are increasingly considered as a viable alternative to clinically employed Gd chelates in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The utilisation of these materials as contrast agents offers several advantages including lower toxicity, prolonged circulation time, and a sufficiently high Gd content, thereby enhancing disease imaging during MRI diagnosis. Therefore, this study synthesised Gd NPs using the hydrothermal method based on the response surface methodology Box-Behnken design (RSM-BBD) to determine the optimal conditions. In this experimental design, three independent variables, the mass of Gd₂O₃ (g), the synthesis temperature (°C) and time (h), were optimised to obtain sufficiently sized nanoparticles for further biomedical applications. In addition, polyethene glycol-6000 (PEG-6000) was used as a stabiliser to form uniformly sized nanoparticles. The optimal conditions were 0.4910 g of Gd₂O₃, a temperature of 180 °C, and a synthesis time of 7 h. Characterisation by scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) demonstrated that the Gd NPs were spherical with a size range below 20 nm. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy identified PEG molecules with low intensity on the Gd NPs and the obtained zeta potential value was +36.7±0.802 mV. The RSM-BBD analysis applied in this study facilitated the determination of the optimal synthesis conditions.

Information storage in vivo will lead to next-generation identification and security authentication. Here, an information storage method was proposed for in vivo application by using a pair of lanthanide-doped nanoprobes (NdNPs and ErNPs) with orthogonal emissions in the second near-infrared window. The information is stored in different fluorescence channels separately, while the selective readout could be realized by simply manipulating excitation wavelengths. The small-animal experiments primarily confirm the applicability of this method in vivo. The binary numbers ″1″ and ″0″ are implanted under the mice's skin, and the corresponding signals ″on″ and ″off″ can be collected by charge-coupled devices under different laser filter combinations. The design of lanthanide-doped probes with the nanoscale features and orthogonal emissions is expected to provide a new strategy for information storage in vivo. The lanthanide materials with excellent down-conversion near-infrared fluorescence performance have shown great application potential in the field of photonics.