Lanthanide

Lanthanide phosphate nanoparticles (NPs) are particularly well suited for biomedical applications. Besides their well-known luminescent properties, these nanomaterials are stable in aqueous solvents, relatively nontoxic, and have a high resistance to radiation damage. Lanthanide phosphate NPs are promising candidates as carriers for α and β emitters in RIT, TAT, and imaging applications.

Lanthanum phosphate (LaPO4) is one among the lanthanide family of rare earth phosphates characterized by versatile properties such as hydrophobicity, metallophobicity, low thermal conductivity and machinability. The possibility of creating non-wetting inorganic surfaces by simple wet chemical coating approaches impart diverse functionality to this material and a host of applications ranging from hydrophobic surfaces to metallophobic surfaces.

Lanthanum phosphate is the first element and prototype of the lanthanide series. In the periodic table, it appears to the right of the alkaline earth metal barium and to the left of the lanthanide cerium. Lanthanum is often considered to be a group 3 element, along with its lighter congeners scandium and yttrium and its heavier congener, the radioactive actinium, although this classification is sometimes disputed.