Photothermal effects and mesoporous silica encapsulation of silicon nanocrystals

• Author / Creator

  Regli, Sarah

• The present thesis describes preliminary studies required for evaluating silicon nanocrystals (Si-NCs) as photothermal (PT) therapy agents and drug delivery vehicles. Group 14 semiconductor NCs are of particular interest for these applications because of their tailorable optical response and biological inertness.
  Detailed studies of the PT efficiencies of different sized Si-NCs were performed. It was found the PT response exhibited by the presented Si-NCs showed a clear size dependence leading to the proposal that its origin is dominant due to the phenomenon of carrier cooling.
  Mesoporous silica is a promising material for drug delivery applications because of its intrinsic high surface area and tailorable pore size. A surfactant-templated approach is described within this thesis that affords effective encapsulation of Si-NCs within 30 nm mesoporous silica nanospheres, The resulting photoluminescent particles were evaluated in proof-of-concept drug release investigations.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Mesoporous silica encapsulation
  • Photothermal
  • Silicon nanocrystals
  • Multifunctional materials
  • Drug delivery
  • Photoluminescence

• Graduation date

  Spring 2012

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R38W38994

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.