Highly colloidally stable hyperbranched polyglycerol grafted red fluorescent silicon nanoparticle as bioimaging probe

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 nanoprobe using the conventional bioconjugation chemistry and used for specific targeting to αvβ3 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.