Abstract
A new hybrid material consisting of nanodiamonds (NDs) and silk has been synthesized and investigated. NDs can contain bright fluorescence centers, important for bioprobes to image biological structures at the nanoscale and silk provides a transparent, robust matrix for these nanoparticles in-vivo or in-vitro. The ND-silk hybrid films were determined to be highly transparent in the visible to near infrared wavelength range. The NDs embedded in silk exhibited significant enhancement of emission relative to air, correlating with theoretical predictions. Furthermore, animal toxicity tests confirmed ND-silk films to be non-toxic in an in-vivo mice model.
Highlights
Nanobiotechnology is a rapidly emerging field which promises the development of new types of diagnostic and therapeutic techniques for biomedicine
A new hybrid material consisting of nanodiamonds (NDs) and silk has been synthesized and investigated
The NV- center consists of a substitutional nitrogen atom adjacent to a vacancy surrounded by a carbon lattice, as shown to the inset of Fig. 1(a)
Summary
Nanobiotechnology is a rapidly emerging field which promises the development of new types of diagnostic and therapeutic techniques for biomedicine. The technologies based on the utilization of nanoparticles are expected to improve our knowledge of biological systems and mechanisms at the molecular and cellular level [1]. In this regard, fluorescent nanodiamonds (NDs) are increasingly studied due to their non-cytotoxicity [2,3] and stable emission at room temperature [4].The negatively charged nitrogen vacancy (NV-) center [4,5] is one of a number of color centers in diamond which is an exceptionally photostable single photon emitter at room temperature [4]. Optical excitation and sensing with an NVcenter occurs in the wavelength range which does not interfere with cellular processes [6]
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