Graphene oxide wrapping on squaraine-loaded mesoporous silica nanoparticles for bioimaging

Abstract

Squaraine dyes were loaded inside mesoporous silica nanoparticles, and the nanoparticle surfaces were then wrapped with ultrathin graphene oxide sheets, leading to the formation of a novel hybrid material. The hybrid exhibits remarkable stability and can efficiently protect the loaded dye from nucleophilic attack. The biocompatible hybrid is noncytotoxic and presents significant potential for application in fluorescence imaging in vitro.