Highly Colloidally Stable Hyperbranched Polyglycerol Grafted Red Fluorescent Silicon Nanoparticle as Bioimaging Probe

摘要

Here we report a surface modification approach for fluorescent silicon nanoparticle that transforms hydrophobic nanoparticle into water-soluble nanoparticle of high colloidal stability. The approach involves ring-opening polymerization of glycidol at the hydroxyl-terminated nanoparticle surface that results in a hyperbranched polyglycerol grafted silicon nanoparticle (Si-HPG). The resultant Si-HPG has 25 nm hydrodynamic diameter, low surface charge, and broad emission in the range of 450-700 nm with a fluorescence quantum yield of 6-9%. The Si-HPG has been transformed into cyclic RGD peptide functionalized nanop-robe using the conventional bioconjugation chemistry and used for specific targeting to α_vβ3 integrin overexpressed cervical cancer cells and glioblastoma cells. Result shows that a silicon nanoparticle-based red fluorescent nanoprobe can be developed for in vitro/in vivo bioimaging applications.