SiNBioSys developed luminescent silicon nanocrystals as optical imaging probes. Optical imaging is a powerful tool for light-guided surgery and for the study of biological functions via dynamic visualization of processes in tissues and cells. We demonstrated that silicon nanocrystals offer the following advantages compared to fluorescent markers and conventional quantum dots: silicon is essentially non-toxic, easily available, it can be covalently linked with dyes, the extraordinary brightness of the material coupled to a long-lived luminescence (lifetime of the hundreds of microseconds) enables time-gated detection for an improved contrast of the obtained images.
SiNBioSys developed a commercialization package of the presented technology, consisting of technical tests, market analysis, business plan and IP strategy. This technology was presented to end-users, like physicians, to understand their need and their expectations, and to potential investors and industrial partners: very positive feedbacks were obtained in both cases. The future development will be the creation of a spin-off company.
