EAGER: Study of Ultra-High Brightness of Fluorescent Silica Nanoparticles for the use in Bio Imaging Applications

Clarkson University, Potsdam NY

Investigators

Abstract

1242214 Sokolov This EAGER proposal deals with fluorescent nanoparticles of unusually high brightness. Being a substantially new and radically different approach to making fluorescent nanoparticles, this research is considered to be high risk. At the same time, it is a high potential payoff due to the importance of such particles for a broad range of photonic applications involving tagging, tracing, labeling, and particularly in biological imaging and sensing. High brightness of labeling particles is desirable to attain higher signal-to-noise ratio, and consequently, to increase sensitivity and/or speed of sensing, contrast of imaging, to decrease the limit of detection, etc. The merits of the proposed research are in the study of silica nanoparticles, which have unusually strong fluorescent emission; understanding the nature of this phenomenon; and investigating the limits of this approach for bio-imaging applications.