Multiporous silica nanoparticles with carbon nanodots: synthesis, optoelectronic and biomedical applications

Spherical multiporous silica nanoparticles (MSNPs) with a diameter of 50 $\pm$ 15 nm containing two types of nanopores with sizes of 0.8–2 nm (type I) and 5–10 nm (type II) are synthesized. The film formed from MSNPs contains pores 10–40 nm in size (type III) as a result of spherical nanoparticles packing. Methods are developed for the selective introduction of dye molecules – propidium iodide (PI), carbon nanodots (CD) 3.5 nm in size, and Ag nanoparticles (20 nm) into pores of types I, II, and III, respectively. The possibility of using MSNP/CD and MSNP/CD/Ag films as phosphors for white light LEDs is demonstrated. It is shown that composite MSNP/CD and MSNP/CD/PI particles are non-toxic and allow visualization of the cell structure (by the example of HeLa) simultaneously in several spectral ranges.