Intracellular sensing and cell diagnostics using fluorescent silica nanoparticles

The encapsulation of fluorophores into silica nanoparticles (NPs) and their application as optical sensors for various analytes in suspension has become a widespread and well examined research field in the last decades. Here we survey the implementation of fluorescent silica NPs in intracellular analyte monitoring, cellular targeting and cancer cell diagnosis, after briefly introducing the methods of synthesising and functionalising silica NPs. The discussed studies show that these NPs possess great potential for real clinical and biomedical applications. Due to this fact and because the examples of applications to date are rare, this review aims to encourage an increased use of fluorescent silica NPs in biological and clinical research.