Dual-color core–shell silica nanosystems for advanced super-resolution biomedical imaging

Fluorescent core–shell silica nanoparticles are largely employed in nanomedicine and life science thanks to the many advantages they offer. Among these, the enhancement of the stability of the fluorescent signal upon fluorophore encapsulation into the silica matrix and the possibility to combine in a single vehicle multiple functionalities, physically separated in different compartments. In this work, we present a new approach to the Stöber method as a two-cycle protocol for the tailored synthesis of dual-color fluorescent core–shell silicon dioxide nanoparticles (SiO(2) NPs) using two commercial dyes as model. To facilitate the colloidal stability, the nanoparticle surface was functionalized with biotin by two approaches. The biotinylated nanosystems were characterized by several analytical and advanced microscopy techniques including Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), UV-vis, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Moreover, advanced super-resolution based on structured illumination was used for the imaging of the double-fluorescent NPs, both on a substrate and in the cellular microenvironment, at nanometric resolution 100 nm, in view of their versatile potential employment in fluorescence optical nanoscopy as nanoscale calibration tools as well as in biomedical applications as biocompatible nanosystems for intracellular biosensing with high flexibility of use, being these nanoplatforms adaptable to the encapsulation of any couple of dyes with the desired function.