Enhanced Emission of Zinc Nitride Colloidal Nanoparticles with Organic Dyes for Optical Sensors and Imaging Application

Herein, we have reported on the efficiency of inorganic Zn3N2 nanoparticles for labeling plant cells and animal cells toward imaging applications with negligible toxicity. We have synthesized zinc nitride (Zn3N2) colloidal nanoparticles with an average size of 25 nm at room temperature. The optical band gap of the prepared Zn3N2 nanoparticles is 2.8 eV and gives a visible range emission at 415 nm. With the addition of Zn3N2 colloids to organic dyes such as protoporphyrin, flavin adenine dinucleotide, fluorescein, and neutral red, the emission intensity of the organic dyes enhanced from 3 to 20 times. The molecular simulation and lifetime studies evidence the possibility of energy transfer from zinc nitride to organic dyes. The enhancement of dye intensity in the presence of Zn3N2 enhanced the vicinity of the cellular environment during confocal imaging of plant cells and animal cells. The detailed results suggested Zn3N2 for bioimaging and biosensor applications. Copyright © 2020 American Chemical Society.