Near-infrared mechanoluminescence from Sr3Sn2O7:Nd3+ for potential bioimaging and non-destructive detection

Mechanoluminescence (ML) materials have made significant progress in flexible sensing and human–computer interaction due to their unique “force-to-light” conversion properties. However, most ML materials are limited to the visible light spectral band and single triggering mechanisms, limiting their practical applications in bioimaging and medical non-destructive detection. Here, a near-infrared (NIR) ML material Sr 3 Sn 2 O 7 :0.01Nd 3+ with multi-mode physical stimuli response is reported. Under friction and compression mechanical stimuli, the ML intensity of Sr 3 Sn 2 O 7 :0.01Nd 3+ is linearly positively correlated with the applied load, showing excellent stress-sensing performance. At the same time, the Sr 3 Sn 2 O 7 :0.01Nd 3+ ML material can penetrate different biological tissues up to 10 mm thick and realize the non-destructive detection of components in various transparent liquids. In addition, non-invasive blood lipid detection can be potentially obtained for patients through the absorption characteristics of oils and fats for NIR light signals. These research results indicate the broad application prospects of Sr 3 Sn 2 O 7 :0.01Nd 3+ in bioimaging, health monitoring, and non-destructive detection, and it provides a basis for developing new medical non-invasive detection technologies.