Porous Silicon Microcavity Modulates the Photoluminescence Spectra of Organic Polymers and Quantum Dots

Ratiometric Fluorescent Nanohybrid for Noninvasive and Visual Monitoring of Sweat Glucose

Noninvasive and visual monitoring of glucose is highly desirable for diabetes diagnostics and long-term home-based health management. Owing to the correlation of the glucose level between blood and sweat, on-body sweat glucose detection provides potential for noninvasive healthcare but is highly challenging. Herein, we for the first time demonstrate a wearable skin pad based on the ratiometric fluorescent nanohybrid, which can realize noninvasive and visual monitoring of sweat glucose. Luminescent porous silicon (PSi) particles, which have a porous structure and oxidation-responsive photoluminescence decay, are chosen to load (adsorb or entrap) carbon quantum dots (CQDs) for the construction of the dual fluorescence nanohybrid. Bimetallic (Au and Ag) nanoparticles (BiM) are also co-decorated on the PSi particle to improve detection sensitivity by enhancing PSi's initial fluorescence and oxidation kinetics. Owing to the efficient fluorescence resonance energy transfer effect, BiM-CQDs@PSi initially exhibits PSi's red fluorescence with complete quenching of CQDs's blue fluorescence. The oxidation of PSi triggered by hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) weakens the FRET effect and decays PSi's fluorescence, causing ratiometric fluorescence to change from red (PSi) to blue (CQDs). A wearable skin pad is easily fabricated by co-immobilization of BiM-CQDs@PSi and glucose oxidase (GOX) in a transparent and biocompatible chitosan film supported by an adhesive polyurethane membrane. When the skin pad is attached on the body, the same ratiometric fluorescence transition (red → blue) is observed upon the stimulation of H₂O₂ generated in GOX-catalyzed oxidation of sweat glucose. Based on the strong correlation between the ratio of the fluorescence change and sweat glucose level, clinical tests toward diabetics and healthy volunteers can clearly indicate hyperglycemia.

Porous Si-SiO2 UV Microcavities to Modulate the Responsivity of a Broadband Photodetector

Porous Si-SiO₂ UV microcavities are used to modulate a broad responsivity photodetector (GVGR-T10GD) with a detection range from 300 to 510 nm. The UV microcavity filters modified the responsivity at short wavelengths, while in the visible range the filters only attenuated the responsivity. All microcavities had a localized mode close to 360 nm in the UV-A range, and this meant that porous Si-SiO₂ filters cut off the photodetection range of the photodetector from 300 to 350 nm, where microcavities showed low transmission. In the short-wavelength range, the photons were absorbed and did not contribute to the photocurrent. Therefore, the density of recombination centers was very high, and the photodetector sensitivity with a filter was lower than the photodetector without a filter. The maximum transmission measured at the localized mode (between 356 and 364 nm) was dominant in the UV-A range and enabled the flow of high energy photons. Moreover, the filters favored light transmission with a wavelength from 390 nm to 510 nm, where photons contributed to the photocurrent. Our filters made the photodetector more selective inside the specific UV range of wavelengths. This was a novel result to the best of our knowledge.

The Enhanced Sensitivity of a Porous Silicon Microcavity Biosensor Based on an Angular Spectrum Using CdSe/ZnS Quantum Dots

To improve the detection sensitivity of porous silicon microcavity biosensors, CdSe/ZnS quantum dots are used to label complementary DNA molecules for the refractive index amplification and angular spectrum method for detection. In this method, the TE mode laser is used as the detection light and the light source is changed into a parallel beam by collimating and expanding the beam, which illuminates the PSM surface and receives the reflected light from the PSM surface through the detector. The angle corresponding to the weakest reflected light intensity before and after the biological reaction between probe DNA and complementary DNA of different concentrations labeled by quantum dots was measured by the detector, and the relationship between the angle change before and after the biological reaction and the complementary DNA concentration labeled by quantum dots was obtained. The experimental results show that the angle change increases linearly with increasing complementary DNA concentration. The detection limit of the experiment, as determined by fitting, is approximately 36 pM. The detection limit of this method is approximately 1/300 of that without quantum dot labeling. Our method has a low cost because it does not require the use of a reflectance spectrometer, and it also demonstrates high sensitivity.

Porous Silicon Bragg Reflector/Carbon Dot Hybrids: Synthesis, Nanostructure, and Optical Properties

Carbon dots (C-dots) exhibit unique fluorescence properties, mostly depending upon their physical environments. Here we investigate the optical properties and nanostructure of Carbon dots (C-dots) which are synthesized in situ within different porous Silicon (PSi) Bragg reflectors. The resulting hybrids were characterized by photoluminescence, X-ray photoelectron, and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopies, as well as by confocal and transmission electron microscopy. We show that by tailoring the location of the PSi Bragg reflector photonic bandgap and its oxidation level, the C-dots emission spectral features can be tuned. Notably, their fluorescence emission can be significantly enhanced when the high reflection band of the PSi host overlaps with the confined C-dots' peak wavelength, and the PSi matrix is thermally oxidized at mild conditions. These phenomena are observed for multiple compositions of PSi Bragg reflectors/C-dots hybrids.