title: Synthesis and bio-imaging application of highly luminescent mercaptosuccinic acid-coated CdTe nanocrystals.
abstract: Here we present a facile one-pot method to prepare high-quality CdTe nanocrystals in aqueous phase. In contrast to the use of oxygen-sensitive NaHTe or H(2)Te as Te source in the current synthetic methods, we employ more stable sodium tellurite as the Te source for preparing highly luminescent CdTe nanocrystals in aqueous solution. By selecting mercaptosuccinic acid (MSA) as capping agent and providing the borate-citrate acid buffering solution, CdTe nanocrystals with high quantum yield (QY >70% at pH range 5.0-8.0) can be conveniently prepared by this method. The influence of parameters such as the pH value of the precursor solution and the molar ratio of Cd(2+) to Na(2)TeO(3) on the QY of CdTe nanocrystals was systematically investigated in our experiments. Under optimal conditions, the QY of CdTe nanocrystals is even high up to 83%. The biological application of luminescent MSA-CdTe to HEK 293 cell imaging was also illustrated.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, Jilin, China.
authors.forename: Erbo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ying
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Shaojun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Shaojun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D002021:Buffers; D019187:Cadmium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D049449:Luminescence; D049329:Nanostructures; D013691:Tellurium / Q000737:chemistry*; D013870:Thiomalates / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D002021:Buffers; D019187:Cadmium Compounds; D013870:Thiomalates; C046062:2-thiomalic acid; D013691:Tellurium; C028337:cadmium telluride