Nanocrystalline silicon in biological studies

Porous silicon and similar materials, like micro-and nanocrystalline silicon, are nowadays studied not only in physical research (e. g. optical gain studies, electro-optical devices, solar energy conversion), but they are very promising also in biological research as fluorescent labels, biological sensors, drug delivery systems or scaffold for various tissues. We are giving an overview of various approaches of preparation of micro-and nanocrystalline silicon and current studies of applications with main focus on biology and medicine. In contrast to other nanomaterials used in biological studies (e. g. carbon nanotubes, fullerenes, cadmium containing quantum dots) silicon based nanomaterials show very good biocompatibility and low cytotoxicity. Therefore, these materials have potential to become powerful tools for in vivo investigation of life processes on subcellular and molecular level. Our group concentrates on developing of gentle florescent label based on porous silicon for single molecule detection in the cell. (C) 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim