Harmonic Nanocrystals for Biolabeling: A Survey of Optical Properties and Biocompatibility

• Published in: ACS nano Vol. 6; no. 3; pp. 2542 - 2549
• Main Authors: Staedler, Davide, Magouroux, Thibaud, Hadji, Rachid, Joulaud, Cécile, Extermann, Jérôme, Schwung, Sebastian, Passemard, Solène, Kasparian, Christelle, Clarke, Gareth, Gerrmann, Mathias, Le Dantec, Ronan, Mugnier, Yannick, Rytz, Daniel, Ciepielewski, Daniel, Galez, Christine, Gerber-Lemaire, Sandrine, Juillerat-Jeanneret, Lucienne, Bonacina, Luigi, Wolf, Jean-Pierre
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 27.03.2012
• Subjects: Barium Compounds - chemistry; Barium Compounds - toxicity; Biocompatibility; Cell Line, Tumor; Colloids; Engineering Sciences; Fluorescence; Hemolysis - drug effects; Humans; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Imaging; Materials Testing; Mechanical engineering; Mechanics; Molecular Imaging; Nanocrystals; Nanomaterials; Nanoparticles - chemistry; Nanoparticles - toxicity; Nanostructure; Niobium - chemistry; Niobium - toxicity; Nonlinearity; Optical Phenomena; Optical properties; Oxides - chemistry; Oxides - toxicity; Phosphates - chemistry; Phosphates - toxicity; Photons; Physics; Polyethylene Glycols - chemistry; Potassium - chemistry; Potassium - toxicity; Potassium niobates; Staining and Labeling; Titanium - chemistry; Titanium - toxicity; Water - chemistry; Zinc Oxide - chemistry; Zinc Oxide - toxicity; harmonic nanoparticles; cell labeling; nonlinear microscopy
• ISSN: 1936-0851; 1936-086X
• DOI: 10.1021/nn204990n

Nonlinear optical nanocrystals have been recently introduced as a promising alternative to fluorescent probes for multiphoton microscopy. We present for the first time a complete survey of the properties of five nanomaterials (KNbO3, LiNbO3, BaTiO3, KTP, and ZnO), describing their preparation and stabilization and providing quantitative estimations of their nonlinear optical response. In the light of their prospective use as biological and clinical markers, we assess their biocompatibility on human healthy and cancerous cell lines. Finally, we demonstrate the great potential for cell imaging of these inherently nonlinear probes in terms of optical contrast, wavelength flexibility, and signal photostability.