Microencapsulation of Lead-Halide Perovskites in an Oil-in-Fluorine Emulsion for Cell Imaging

oleh: Jia-Xin Wang, Chang Liu, Hao Huang, Rui He, Shengyong Geng, Xue-Feng Yu

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2023-05-01

Deskripsi

The superior optical properties of lead-halide perovskites (LHPs) inspired significant research in cell imaging applications; many encapsulating processes have improved perovskite stabilities with comparable biosafety. Herein, facile solvent evaporation encapsulation based on an oil-in-fluorine emulsion for aqueous-stable and extremely nontoxic LHP microcapsules is described. Perfluorooctane dispersed the emulsifier fluorocarbon surfactant to form a continuous fluorine phase, while LHPs and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) were dispersed in 1,2-dichloroethane, then emulsified in the fluorine phase to form an oil-in-fluorine emulsion. CsPbBr<sub>3</sub> microcapsules with a dense PMMA shell that protect fragile CsPbBr<sub>3</sub> from the external environment and inhibit lead ion release were obtained after solvent evaporation. The CsPbBr<sub>3</sub> microcapsules not only retained 91% of fluorescence intensity after exposure to water for 30 d but also possess extremely low cytotoxicity for MCF-7 cells. After exposure to 2 mg/mL of CsPbBr<sub>3</sub> microcapsules for 48 h, the cell viability remained >90%. The intracellular uptake of CsPbBr<sub>3</sub> microcapsules indicates its potential use in cell imaging.