Preparation of zwitterionic polymers functionalized fluorescent mesoporous silica nanoparticles through photoinduced surface initiated RAFT polymerization in the presence of oxygen

Mesoporous silicon nanoparticles (MSNs) have gradually developed into the multi-functional platforms in biomedical fields for their properties of high specific surface areas, regular mesoporous structure, low toxicity, chemical inert and facile functionalization. MSNs based fluorescent nanoprobes have been extensively investigated previously and many effective methods have been devoted to simplify the fabrication process. In this work, the MSNs based fluorescent polymer composites were prepared by a facile and effective reversible addition−fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization with the assistance by visible light irradiation, which could conduct in the presence of oxygen without complicated deoxygenation steps. A series of characterization techniques were employed to determine the successful synthesis of our preconceived MSNs- co -poly(MPC–AcFl) composites. Besides, the bright green fluorescence was observed in live L929 cells through CLSM, and cell viability evaluation was revealed that these as prepared composites were nearly no damage to cells. Combined with all the above results, the as prepared MSNs- co -poly(MPC–AcFl) composites should promising fluorescent nanoprobes for biomedical applications. Owing to the good monomer adoptability, the photoinduced oxygen tolerance RAFT polymerization could also be expanded for surface modification and construction of multifunctional composites.