title: Ultrasmall near-infrared Ag2Se quantum dots with tunable fluorescence for in vivo imaging.
abstract: A strategy is presented that involes coupling Na(2)SeO(3) reduction with the binding of silver ions and alanine in a quasi-biosystem to obtain ultrasmall, near-infrared Ag(2)Se quantum dots (QDs) with tunable fluorescence at 90 °C in aqueous solution. This strategy avoids high temperatures, high pressures, and organic solvents so that water-dispersible sub-3 nm Ag(2)Se QDs can be directly obtained. The photoluminescence of the Ag(2)Se QDs was size-dependent over a wavelength range from 700 to 820 nm, corresponding to sizes from 1.5 ± 0.4 to 2.4 ± 0.5 nm, with good monodispersity. The Ag(2)Se QDs are less cytotoxic than other nanomaterials used for similar applications. Furthermore, the NIR fluorescence of the Ag(2)Se QDs could penetrate through the abdominal cavity of a living nude mouse and could be detected on its back side, demonstrating the potential applications of these less toxic NIR Ag(2)Se QDs in bioimaging.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Biology and Medicine (Ministry of Education), College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Research Center for Nanobiology and Nanomedicine (MOE 985 Innovative Platform), Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, PR China.
authors.forename: Yi-Ping
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: Ran
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: Zhi-Ling
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zhi-Xiong
authors.initials: ZX
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Dai-Wen
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Pang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D007259:Infrared Rays; D051379:Mice; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D057054:Molecular Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D010316:Particle Size; D045663:Quantum Dots; D018036:Selenium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence
chemical_list: D018036:Selenium Compounds