Phospholipid micelles-encapsulated perovskite nanocrystals via dual solvent exchange for human hela cervical cancer cells imaging

•“Dual-solvent exchange” strategy was proposed for micelle encapsulation toward perovskite.•PEGylated phospholipid micelle-encapsulated perovskite showed excellent water solubility.•PEGylated phospholipid micelle-encapsulated perovskite was successfully applied in Hela cell imaging. Polyethylene glycol-conjugated phospholipid micelles encapsulated CsPbBr3 nanocrystals were prepared through dual solvent exchange method. This strategy was applied for the first time to micellar encapsulation of CsPbBr3 perovskites, circumventing the purification step. The as-prepared sample showed high solubility and maintained high photoluminescence performance even after five days in water. More importantly, the encapsulation of phospholipid micelles toward CsPbBr3 nanocrystals greatly improved the imaging efficiency of human hela cervical cancer cells (Hela cells).