title: Biocompatible and highly luminescent near-infrared CuInS₂/ZnS quantum dots embedded silica beads for cancer cell imaging.
abstract: Bright and stable CuInS2/ZnS@SiO2 nanoparticles with near-infrared (NIR) emission were competently prepared by incorporating the as-prepared hydrophobic CuInS2/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) directly into lipophilic silane micelles and subsequently an exterior silica shell was formed. The obtained CuInS2/ZnS@SiO2 nanoparticles homogeneously comprised both single-core and multicore remarkable CuInS2/ZnS QDs, while the silica shell thickness could be controlled to within 5-10 nm and their overall size was 17-25 nm. Also, the functionalized CuInS2/ZnS QDs encapsulated in the silica spheres, expedited their bioconjugation with holo-Transferrin (Tf) for further cancer cell imaging. The CuInS2/ZnS@SiO2 nanoparticles not only showed a dominant NIR band-edge luminescence at 650-720 nm with a quantum yield (QY) between 30 and 50%, without a recognized photoluminescence (PL) red shift, but also exhibited excellent PL and colloidal stability in aqueous media. Impressively, the cytotoxicity studies revealed minor suppression on cell viability under both CuInS2/ZnS@SiO2 and CuInS2/ZnS@SiO2@Tf concentrations up to 1 mg/mL. The application in live-cell imaging revealed that the potential of CuInS2/ZnS QDs as biocompatible, robust, cadmium-free, and brilliant NIR emitters is considered promising for fluorescent labels.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Science, Huazhong Agricultural University , Wuhan 430070, China.
authors.forename: Mohamed F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Foda
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.forename: He-You
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Han
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D003300:Copper / Q000633:toxicity; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D057446:Hydrodynamics; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D007495:Iridium / Q000633:toxicity; D049449:Luminescence; D008823:Micelles; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D045663:Quantum Dots / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared; D013440:Sulfides / Q000633:toxicity; D014465:Ultrasonics; D017967:Zinc Compounds / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D008823:Micelles; D013440:Sulfides; D017967:Zinc Compounds; D007495:Iridium; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D003300:Copper; C031238:zinc sulfide