The importance of high-resolution intracellular thermal sensing and imaging in the field of modern biomedicine has boosted the development of novel nanosized fluorescent systems (fluorescent nanothermometers) as the next generation of probes for intracellular thermal sensing and imaging. This thermal mapping requires fluorescent nanothermometers with good biocompatibility and high thermal sensitivity in order to obtain submicrometric and subdegree spatial and thermal resolutions, respectively. This chapter revises the different nanometric systems that have been proposed to date for intracellular thermal sensing and imaging. We also include the later advances in molecular systems based on fluorescent proteins for thermal mapping. A critical overview of the state of the art and the future perspective is also included.

This work was partially developed within the scope of the project CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, POCI-01- 0145-FEDER-007679 (FCT Ref. UID/CTM/50011/2013), financed by national funds through the FCT/MEC and when appropriate co-financed by FEDER under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement. CDSB thanks the Portuguese Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT) for the post-doctoral grant (SFRH/BPD/89003/2012). Financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation MAT2014-54975-R are gratefully acknowledged. The authors would like to acknowledge the use of Servicio General de Apoyo a la Investigacion-SAI, Universidad de Zaragoza.

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