AcZon’s decades of experience in the field of immunofluorescence, highlighted the limits of the current technology under this application: particularly, the matter that the most used fluorophores (such as organic molecules or fluorescent proteins) are particularly unstable and the emitted signal is affected by pH and external agents’ action.

 

AcZon studied and optimized a technology to overcome this issue, which involves the inclusion of the fluorescent molecules in silica nanoparticles (SiNPs). Sensitive molecules are thus protected by the external environment resulting in a high resistance to photobleaching (fluorescence decrease due to photochemical degradation).

 

In addition, as each nanoparticle hosts numerous fluorescent molecules the fluorescent signal results enhanced in comparison with standard technologies.

 

Moreover, the silica is chemically inert, transparent to ultraviolet and visible light, biocompatible and cheap. Furthermore, nanoparticles’ synthesis in extremely versatile: it is possible to tune size, external functionalization and doping (addition of molecules inside the nanoparticles) simply modifying the reaction conditions.

 

Finally, thanks to the presence of polyethylene glycol (PEG) chains, AcZon nanoparticles are highly water-soluble and biocompatible.