Synthesis, encapsulation, purification and coupling of single quantum dots in phospholipid micelles for their use in cellular and in vivo imaging.
A detailed protocol for the synthesis of core/shell semiconductor nanocrystal, their encapsulation into phospholipid micelles, their purification and their coupling to a controlled number of small molecules is given. The protocol for the core/shell quantum dot (QD) CdSe/CdZnS synthesis has been specifically designed with two constraints in mind: green and reproducible core/shell QD synthesis with thick shell structure and QDs that can easily be encapsulated in poly(ethylene glycol)-phospholipid micelles with one QD per micelle. We present two procedures for the QD purification that are suitable for the use of QD micelles for in vivo imaging: ultracentrifugation and size-exclusion chromatography. We also discuss the different coupling chemistry for covalently linking a controlled number of molecules to the QD micelles. The total time durations for the different protocols are as follows: QD synthesis: 6 h; encapsulation: 15 min; purification: 1-4 h; coupling: reaction dependent.
Carion
Olivier
O
Laboratoire Photons et Matière, CNRS UPRA5, ESPCI, 10, rue Vauquelin, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France.
Mahler
Benoît
B
Pons
Thomas
T
Dubertret
Benoit
B
D005453:Fluorescence; D008823:Micelles; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000737:chemistry*; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry; D045663:Quantum Dots; D014050:Toluene / Q000737:chemistry; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
D008823:Micelles; D010743:Phospholipids; D014867:Water; D014050:Toluene; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols