Special method to prepare quantum dot probes with reduced cytotoxicity and increased optical property.
Quantum dots (QDs) are widely used in the life sciences because of their novel physicochemical properties. However, the cytotoxity of these nonoparticles have attracted great attention recently because this has not been well resolved. Four probes were synthesized by chemical coupling and protein denaturation with CdSeZnS, CdTe QDs, and transferrin. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and capillary electrophoresis were used to verify the conjugation of these luminescent probes. The cytotoxicity of these four luminescent probes and the original QDs were evaluated in HeLa cells. The results showed that over 92% of HeLa cells were still alive after being exposed to 3.2-microM CdSeZnS QDs capped with denatured transferrin for 72 h. Furthermore, while the probe preparation was very simple, the photoluminescence quantum yield of this probe was 7% higher than the original CdSeZnS QDs. This provides a new way for exploiting QD probes with low cytotoxicity, which will expand applications of nanocomposite assembly in biolabeling and imaging.
Zhang
Hai-Li
HL
Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Britton Chance Center for Biomedical Photonics, Wuhan, China.
Li
Yong-Qiang
YQ
Wang
Jian-Hao
JH
Li
Xiang-Ning
XN
Lin
Song
S
Zhao
Yuan-Di
YD
Luo
Qing-Ming
QM
D019187:Cadmium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D045663:Quantum Dots; D018036:Selenium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D013440:Sulfides / Q000737:chemistry; D013691:Tellurium / Q000737:chemistry; D014168:Transferrin / Q000737:chemistry*; D017967:Zinc Compounds / Q000737:chemistry
D019187:Cadmium Compounds; D018036:Selenium Compounds; D013440:Sulfides; D014168:Transferrin; D017967:Zinc Compounds; C058667:cadmium selenide; C031238:zinc sulfide; D013691:Tellurium; C028337:cadmium telluride