Water-Soluble Luminescent Silicon Nanocrystals by Plasma-Induced Acrylic Acid Grafting and PEGylation.

ABSTRACT: Luminescent silicon nanocrystals are promising nanomaterials for biomedical applications due to their unique optical properties and biocompatibility. Here, we demonstrate a two-step surface modification approach coupling gas-phase and liquid-phase methods to synthesize PEGylated acrylic acid grafted silicon nanocrystals with near-infrared emission in water and biological media. First, acrylic acid grafted silicon nanocrystals are synthesized by an all-gas-phase approach on a millisecond time scale, omitting high temperature and postpurification processes. Subsequently, room-temperature PEGylation is carried out with these acrylic acid grafted silicon nanocrystals, yielding stable colloidal dispersions in both water and high ionic strength Tyrode's buffer with 20-30 nm hydrodynamic diameter

SUBMITTER: Li Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9721497 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature