Covalent monofunctionalization of peptide-coated quantum dots for single-molecule assays.
Fluorescent probes for biological imaging of single molecules (SM) have many stringent design requirements. In the case of quantum dot (QD) probes, it remains a challenge to control their functional properties with high precision. Here, we describe the simple preparation of QDs with reduced size and monovalency. Our approach combines a peptide surface coating, stable covalent conjugation of targeting units and purification by gel electrophoresis. We precisely characterize these probes by ensemble and SM techniques and apply them to tracking individual proteins in living cells.
Clarke
Samuel
S
Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, CNRS UMR 8552, Département de Physique et Biologie, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Université Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris6), 46 rue d'Ulm 75005 Paris, France.
Pinaud
Fabien
F
Beutel
Oliver
O
You
Changjiang
C
Piehler
Jacob
J
Dahan
Maxime
M
D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry*; D045663:Quantum Dots
D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D010455:Peptides