Silicon nanocrystals (Si NCs) are attractive functional materials. They are compatible with standard electronics and communications platforms as well being biocompatible. Numerous methods have been developed to realize size-controlled Si NC synthesis. While these procedures produce Si NCs that appear identical, their optical responses can differ dramatically. Si NCs prepared using high-temperature methods routinely exhibit photoluminescence agreeing with the effective mass approximation (EMA), while those prepared via solution methods exhibit blue emission that is somewhat independent of particle size. Despite many proposals, a definitive explanation for this difference has been elusive for no less than a decade. This apparent dichotomy brings into question our understanding of Si NC properties and potentially limits the scope of their application. The present contribution takes a substantial step forward toward identifying the origin of the blue emission that is not expected based upon EMA predictions. It describes a detailed comparison of Si NCs obtained from three of the most widely cited procedures as well as the conversion of red-emitting Si NCs to blue-emitters upon exposure to nitrogen containing reagents. Analysis of the evidence is consistent with the hypothesis that the presence of trace nitrogen and oxygen even at the ppm level in Si NCs gives rise to the blue emission.

Although it is hypothesized that surface (like surface charge) and physical characteristics (like particle size) play important roles in cellular interactions of nanoparticles (NPs), a systematic study probing this issue is missing. Hence, a comparative cytotoxicity study quantifying nine different cellular endpoints, was performed with a broad series of monodisperse, well characterized silicon (Si) and germanium (Ge) NPs with various surface functionalizations. Human colonic adenocarcinoma Caco-2 and rat alveolar macrophage NR8383 cells were used, to clarify the toxicity of this series of NPs. The surface coatings on the NPs appeared to dominate the cytotoxicity: the cationic NPs exhibited cytotoxicity, whereas the carboxylic acid-terminated and hydrophilic PEG- or dextran-terminated NPs did not. Within the cationic Si NPs, smaller Si NPs were more toxic than bigger ones. Manganese-doped (1 % Mn) Si NPs did not show any added toxicity, which favors their further development for bioimaging. Iron-doped (1 % Fe) Si NPs showed some added toxicity, which may be due to the leaching of Fe3+ ions from the core. A silica coating seemed to impart toxicity, in line with the reported toxicity of silica. Intracellular mitochondria seem to be a target organ for the toxic NPs since a dose-, surface charge- and size-dependent imbalance of the mitochondrial membrane potential was observed. Such imbalance led to a series of other cellular events for cationic NPs, like decreased mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) and ATP production, induction of ROS generation, increased cytoplasmic Ca2+ content, production of TNF-α and enhanced caspase-3 activity. Taken together, the results explain the toxicity of Si NPs/Ge NPs largely by their surface characteristics, provide insight in the mode of action underlying the observed cytotoxicity, and give directions on synthesizing biocompatible Si and Ge NPs, as this is crucial for bioimaging and other applications in for example the field of medicine.

We demonstrate that silicon nanocrystals (Si-NCs) exhibiting relatively high near-IR photoluminescent quantum yields also exhibit a notable photothermal (PT) response. The PT effect has been quantified as a function of NC size, defect concentration, and irradiating energy, suggesting that the origin of the PT response is a combination of carrier thermalization and defect-mediated heating. The PT effect observed under NIR irradiation suggests that Si-NCs could find use in combined in vivo PL imaging and PT therapy.

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Silicon nanocrystals (Si-NCs) are of significant research interest owing to their quantum confined photoluminescent (PL) properties and biological inertness. A promising application of these NCs is as the luminescent component in multifunctional biomedical technologies. In this report, we demonstrate the encapsulation of alkyl terminated Si-NCs within a mesoporous silica shell as a multifunctional imaging and drug delivery architecture. The Si-NC concentration was found to critically impact the nanoshell morphology. The impact of the encapsulation process on the Si-NC PL was studied, showing a blue-shift and decrease in intensity attributed to the oxidation of Si-NCs under basic conditions.