Single-step acid-catalyzed synthesis of luminescent colloidal organosilica nanobeads

Abstract

We present a single-step, room-temperature synthesis of fluorescent organosilica nanobeads (FOS NBs). The FOS NBs were synthesized under aqueous conditions using (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) as the silicon source in the presence of l-ascorbic acid (L-AA). In the APTES/L-AA/water ternary phase, the hydrolysis and condensation reaction of APTES occurred under acidic conditions to form spherical FOS NBs with an average diameter of 426.8 nm. FOS NBs exhibit excellent colloidal stability in aqueous media. The formation of FOS NBs was complete within a 10 min reaction time, which indicates potential for large-scale mass-production synthesis of luminescent colloidal NBs. The FOS NBs exhibited blue photoluminescence (PL) under UV excitation in the absence of an additional high temperature calcination process or with the incorporation of any fluorophores. This phenomenon is attributed to the presence of carbon-containing defects, which act as luminescent centers formed by the reaction between amino groups in the APTES and l-ascorbic acid reductant. Finally, the results of a cytotoxicity test and cellular uptake experiments revealed that the FOS NBs showed potential as optical contrast agents for bioimaging. Graphical Abstract

Synthesis of Monodispersed Hollow Mesoporous Organosilica and Silica Nanoparticles with Controllable Shell Thickness Using Soft and Hard Templates

“…The peaks at 1165 and 1414 cm –1 , which are attributed to Si–C bonding and the C–H vibration in the CH 2 –CH 2 groups of BTEE, are observed in the spectra of SNP@MOS and HMOS only. The XPS spectra for Si 2p (Figure S2) of SNP@MOS and HMOS also exhibit the peak attributed to O–Si–C bonding, meanwhile that of HMS does not exhibit the peak. Therefore, calcination also removed the organic groups in the organosilica shells of HMOS.…”

Surface Biofunctionalization of Gadolinium Phosphate Nanobunches for Boosting Osteogenesis/Chondrogenesis Differentiation

“…However, the survival rate of GdPO 4 •H 2 O@SiO 2 /PLGA decreased step by step, indicating that the SiO 2 coating had a positive effect on promoting cell survival with increasing concentrations in this range. Notably, only the GdPO 4 •H 2 O@SiO 2 -APS/PLGA leachate showed a cell survival rate of 73.4% without dilution, which was lower than 75%, indicating a slight and low toxic effect due to the presence of a relatively high amount of silane coupling agent APS [38][39][40]. Other groups and cell experiments with dilutions of the extract showed no significant cytotoxicity to MC3T3-E1 cells.…”

Correction: Single-step acid-catalyzed synthesis of luminescent colloidal organosilica nanobeads

“…Author details 1 School of Integrative Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 06974, Republic of Korea. 2 Biomedical Engineering Institute, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand.…”