Photoemissive properties and stability of undecylenic acid-modified porous silicon nanoparticles in physiological medium

Publication date: 18 Mar 2019

JournalSource: OPENALEXOpenAlex type: articleClosed Access
Authors: Chiara Schiattarella, Monica Terracciano, Thomas Defforge, Gaël Gautier, Bartolomeo Della Ventura, Rosalba Moretta, Luca De Stefano, Raffaele Velotta, Ilaria Rea

Porous silicon nanoparticles (PSiNPs) are non-toxic photoluminescence imaging agents whose potential for biophotonic applications has been widely reported in recent years. However, this material suffers from intrinsic limitations, due to its chemical instability and rapid photoluminescence extinction on exposure to the physiological environment. In this letter, a mild functionalization procedure for PSiNP stabilization, based on undecylenic acid conjugation via hydrosilylation, is proven to be effective under simulated biological conditions [phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) 0.1 M, pH = 7.4]. Once stored in isopropanol, bare and hydrosilylated PSiNPs (h·PSiNPs) show similar photoemissive properties: photoluminescence quantum yield (>10%), steady-state spectra, and emission lifetime. Interestingly, the behaviour of these nanoparticles is completely different in the physiological medium: the morphology and the photoluminescence emission of bare PSiNPs completely degrade within 2 h, whereas a full preservation of the same features up to 6 h is demonstrated for h·PSiNPs.

Origin
Applied Physics Letters
Volume
114
Issue
11
Cited by
10
Legacy ID
89ef38781bde765faf3822f48319f16f
Biblio references
Volume: 114 Issue: 11 Pages: 113701