Understanding the significant role of Si-O-Si bonds: Organosilicon materials as powerful platforms for bioimaging

Fluorescence imaging is one of the most powerful methods for the spatial and temporal visualization of bio-species in living systems. Various fluorescent materials have obtained intense and continuous attention, including small-molecule organic fluorophores, luminescent transition metal complex, emissive polymers, and fluorescent proteins. Organosilicon materials, bearing Si-O-Si bonds, are important sorts of functional platforms exhibiting great applications in various fields such as catalysis, energy, and bioscience, due to their unique electronic, optical, and biocompatibility properties. Fluorescent materials based on Si-O-Si bridged materials have presented new potential for imaging biological processes in living systems. Therefore, an in-depth understanding of the roles that Si-O-Si bonds play is instructive for further designing of organosilicon fluorescent materials. This review highlights the recent trends in the development of fluorescent organosilicon compounds as powerful tools for bioimaging within diverse living systems and summarizes the roles of Si-O-Si bonds acted in bioimaging. Besides, we put outlooks forward for the field of fluorescent organosilicon materials and their prospective functions as materials for bioimaging. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.