Tetraphenylethene probe based fluorescent silica nanoparticles for the selective detection of nitroaromatic explosives

A simple and sensitive fluorometric method is developed utilizing aggregation-induced emission probe based silica nanoparticles for the detection of nitroaromatic explosives. A positively charged tetraphenylethene based probe (TPE-C2-2+) is doped...

The Effect of Rhodamine B on The Properties of Fluorescent Nanoparticles Derived from Geothermal Silica

Rhodamine B can be used as a fluorophore to produce fluorescent silica nanoparticles derived from geothermal sludge. The purpose of this research is to synthesize fluorescent silica nanoparticles (FSNP) modified with rhodamine B and cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) using sol-gel method. Geothermal waste was used as a precursor and added with NaOH at 900C to generate sodium silicate. Rhodamine B, as the fluorescent dye were added with concentration variations ranging from 0.156 mg/g to 10 mg/g.CTAB was used as template and HCl 2N was applied as gelling catalyst with aging time of 18 hours. Characterization of FSNP was measured using spectrofluorometer to identify the fluorescent intensity, fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) to determine the functional group of FSNP, Brauner-Emmett-Teller (BET) adsorption to calculate the specific area of the particles, X-ray diffraction (XRD) to analyze the crystallographic phases, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to analyze the surface morphology of the FSNP. FT-IR and fluorescent intensity results showed that FSNP with 2.5 mg/g of rhodamine B had the optimum characteristics. The FSNP was in amorphous phase with uniform pore distribution. BET analysis showed that the specific surface of the FSNP was 190.22 m2/g.

An Efficient Method to Determine Membrane Molecular Weight Cut-Off Using Fluorescent Silica Nanoparticles

Membrane processes have revolutionized many industries because they are more energy and environmentally friendly than other separation techniques. This initial selection of the membrane for any application is based on its Molecular Weight Cut-Off (MWCO). However, there is a lack of a quantitative, liable, and rapid method to determine the MWCO of the membrane. In this study, a methodology to determine the MWCO, based on the retention of fluorescent silica nanoparticles (NPs), is presented. Optimized experimental conditions (Transmembrane pressure, filtration duration, suspension concentration, etc.) have been performed on different membranes MWCO. Filtrations with suspension of fluorescent NPs of different diameters 70, 100, 200 and 300 nm have been examined. The NPs sizes were selected to cover a wide range in order to study NPs diameters larger, close to, and smaller than the membrane pore size. A particle tracking analysis with a nanosight allows us to calculate the retention curves at all times. The retention rate curves were shifted over the filtration process at different times due to the fouling. The mechanism of fouling of the retained NPs explains the determined value of the MWCO. The reliability of this methodology, which presents a rapid quantitative way to determine the MWCO, is in good agreement with the value given by the manufacturer. In addition, this methodology gives access to the retention curve and makes it possible to determine the MWCO as a function of the desired retention rate.

Functionalized Fluorescent Silica Nanoparticles for Bioimaging of Cancer Cells

Functionalized fluorescent silica nanoparticles were designed and synthesized to selectively target cancer cells for bioimaging analysis. The synthesis method and characterization of functionalized fluorescent silica nanoparticles (50–60 nm), as well as internalization and subcellular localization in HeLa cells is reported here. The dye, rhodamine 101 (R101) was physically embedded during the sol–gel synthesis. The dye loading was optimized by varying the synthesis conditions (temperature and dye concentration added to the gel) and by the use of different organotriethoxysilanes as a second silica precursor. Additionally, R101, was also covalently bound to the functionalized external surface of the silica nanoparticles. The quantum yields of the dye-doped silica nanoparticles range from 0.25 to 0.50 and demonstrated an enhanced brightness of 230–260 fold respect to the free dye in solution. The shell of the nanoparticles was further decorated with PEG of 2000 Da and folic acid (FA) to ensure good stability in water and to enhance selectivity to cancer cells, respectively. In vitro assays with HeLa cells showed that fluorescent nanoparticles were internalized by cells accumulating exclusively into lysosomes. Quantitative analysis showed a significantly higher accumulation of FA functionalized fluorescent silica nanoparticles compared to nanoparticles without FA, proving that the former may represent good candidates for targeting cancer cells.