Silicon nanostructures for bioapplications

SummaryThere has been rapidly increasing interest in design and synthesis of silicon-based nanostructured materials for bioapplications. In this review, we focus on recent research progress in design, synthesis and bioapplications of two silicon-based nanostructures, zero-dimensional silicon quantum dots and one-dimensional silicon nanowires. These two low-dimensional silicon nanomaterials have found important applications in ultrasensitive biomolecular detection and fluorescent cellular imaging. We further highlight major challenges and promises in this area.