Laser-synthesized oxide-passivated bright Si quantum dots for bioimaging

Crystalline silicon (Si) nanoparticles present an extremely promising object for bioimaging based on photoluminescence (PL) in the visible and near-infrared spectral regions, but their efficient PL emission in aqueous suspension is typically observed after wet chemistry procedures leading to residual toxicity issues. Here, we introduce ultrapure laser-synthesized Si-based quantum dots (QDs), which are water-dispersible and exhibit bright exciton PL in the window of relative tissue transparency near 800 nm. Based on the laser ablation of crystalline Si targets in gaseous helium, followed by ultrasound-assisted dispersion of the deposited films in physiological saline, the proposed method avoids any toxic by-products during the synthesis. We demonstrate efficient contrast of the Si QDs in living cells by following the exciton PL. We also show that the prepared QDs do not provoke any cytoxicity effects while penetrating into the cells and efficiently accumulating near the cell membrane and in the cytoplasm. Combined with the possibility of enabling parallel therapeutic channels, ultrapure laser-synthesized Si nanostructures present unique object for cancer theranostic applications.