title: Fluorescent nanowire heterostructures as a versatile tool for biology applications.
abstract: Nanowires are increasingly used in biology, as sensors, as injection devices, and as model systems for toxicity studies. Currently, in situ visualization of nanowires in biological media is done using organic dyes, which are prone to photobleaching, or using microscopy methods which either yield poor resolution or require a sophisticated setup. Here we show that inherently fluorescent nanowire axial heterostructures can be used to localize and identify nanowires in cells and tissue. By synthesizing GaP-GaInP nanowire heterostructures, with nonfluorescent GaP segments and fluorescent GaInP segments, we created a barcode labeling system enabling the distinction of the nanowire morphological and chemical properties using fluorescence microscopy. The GaInP photoluminescence stability, combined with the fact that the nanowires can be coated with different materials while retaining their fluorescence, make these nanowires promising tools for biological and nanotoxicological studies.
authors.affiliation: Division of Solid State Physics-The Nanometer Structure Consortium, Lund University , 22100 Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Karl
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Adolfsson
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Persson
authors.forename: Jesper
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wallentin
authors.forename: Stina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oredsson
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Samuelson
authors.forename: Jonas O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Tegenfeldt
authors.forename: Magnus T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Borgström
authors.forename: Christelle N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Prinz
mesh_terms: D003600:Cytosol / Q000737:chemistry; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D005453:Fluorescence; D005708:Gallium / Q000737:chemistry; D007204:Indium / Q000737:chemistry; D053770:Nanowires / Q000737:chemistry*; D010720:Phosphines / Q000737:chemistry; D012666:Semiconductors; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D010720:Phosphines; D007204:Indium; C485338:gallium phosphide; D004247:DNA; D005708:Gallium