Ratiometric Fluorescent Silicon Quantum Dots-Ce6 Complex Probe for the Live Cell Imaging of Highly Reactive Oxygen...

The monitoring of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in living cells remains challenging because of the complexity, short half-life, and autofluorescence of biological samples. In this work, we designed a ratiometric fluorescent probe for the detection and imaging of ROS, which was constructed from silicon quantum dots (Si QDs) with chlorin e6 (Ce6) through electrostatic attraction and showed well-resolved dual fluorescence emission signals (490 and 660 nm). Sensitive and selective biosensing of hydroxyl radical (^•OH) was demonstrated on the basis of fluorescence quenching of the Si QDs and Ce6 as an internal reference to avoid environmental interference, with a detection limit of ∼0.97 μM. The endogenous release of ^•OH was also monitored and imaged in living cells.