DNA-modified silicon nanocrystals studied by X-ray luminescence and X-ray absorption spectroscopies: Observation of a strong infra-red luminescence band

Coxon, P.R.; Newman, M.; Hunt, M.R.C.; O'Farrell, N.; Horrocks, B.R.; Poolton, N.R.J.; Siller, L.

doi:10.1063/1.3691600

DNA-modified silicon nanocrystals studied by X-ray luminescence and X-ray absorption spectroscopies: Observation of a strong infra-red luminescence band

Coxon, P.R.; Newman, M.; Hunt, M.R.C.; O'Farrell, N.; Horrocks, B.R.; Poolton, N.R.J.; Siller, L.

Authors

P.R. Coxon

M. Newman

Dr Michael Hunt m.r.c.hunt@durham.ac.uk
Associate Professor

N. O'Farrell

B.R. Horrocks

N.R.J. Poolton

L. Siller

Abstract

Silicon nanocrystals (SiNCs) modified with 18-mer DNA oligonucleotides have been studied by X-ray excited optical luminescence (XEOL) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) in photoluminescence yield (PLY) and total electron yield (TEY) modes. Luminescence spectra from the DNA-modified SiNCs under X-ray excitation display distinct differences from simple alkyl terminated SiNCs. The DNA-modified SiNCs show strong luminescence at 540 ± 10 nm under vacuum ultraviolet excitation which is assigned to nitrogen 1s – σ* transitions within the DNA bases. Under excitation at 130 eV the PLY spectra from the same samples show the native nanocrystal ultraviolet emission band is suppressed, and the strongest emission peak is red shifted from 430 ± 10 nm to 489 ± 10 nm which we attribute to base nitrogen 1s transitions. In addition, a strong emission band in the infrared region at 815 ± 10 nm is observed. This clearly resolved strong IR band from the DNA-modified SiNCs may provide a useful luminescence signature in cell-labeling techniques and open up a range of applications for invivo assays.

Citation

Coxon, P., Newman, M., Hunt, M., O'Farrell, N., Horrocks, B., Poolton, N., & Siller, L. (2012). DNA-modified silicon nanocrystals studied by X-ray luminescence and X-ray absorption spectroscopies: Observation of a strong infra-red luminescence band. Journal of Applied Physics, 111(5), Article 054311. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3691600

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Feb 2, 2012
Online Publication Date	Mar 8, 2012
Publication Date	Mar 8, 2012
Deposit Date	Jan 18, 2013
Publicly Available Date	Dec 3, 2018
Journal	Journal of Applied Physics
Print ISSN	0021-8979
Electronic ISSN	1089-7550
Publisher	American Institute of Physics
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	111
Issue	5
Article Number	054311
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3691600

Files

Published Journal Article (680 Kb)
PDF

Copyright Statement
© 2012 American Institute of Physics. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the American Institute of Physics. The following article appeared in Coxon, P.R., Newman, M., Hunt, M.R.C., O'Farrell, N., Horrocks, B.R., Poolton, N.R.J. & Siller, L. (2012). DNA-modified silicon nanocrystals studied by X-ray luminescence and X-ray absorption spectroscopies: Observation of a strong infra-red luminescence band. Journal of Applied Physics 111(5): 054311 and may be found at https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3691600