title: Color Tunable Gd-Zn-Cu-In-S/ZnS Quantum Dots for Dual Modality Magnetic Resonance and Fluorescence Imaging.
abstract: Inorganic nanoparticles have been introduced into biological systems as useful probes forin vitrodiagnosis andin vivoimaging, due to their relatively small size and exceptional physical and chemical properties. A new kind of color tunable Gd-Zn-Cu-In-S/ZnS (GZCIS/ZnS) quantum dots (QDs) with stable crystal structure was successfully synthesized and utilized for magnetic resonance (MR) and fluorescence dual modality imaging. This strategy allows successful fabrication of GZCIS/ZnS QDs by incorporating Gd into ZCIS/ZnS QDs to achieve great MR enhancement without compromising the fluorescence properties of the initial ZCIS/ZnS QDs. The as-prepared GZCIS/ZnS QDs show highT1MR contrast as well as "color-tunable" photoluminescence (PL) in the range of 550-725 nm by adjusting the Zn/Cu feeding ratio with high PL quantum yield (QY). The GZCIS/ZnS QDs were transferred into waterviaa bovine serum albumin (BSA) coating strategy. The resulting Cd-free GZCIS/ZnS QDs reveal negligible cytotoxicity on both HeLa and A549 cells. Both fluorescence and MR imaging studies were successfully performedin vitroandin vivo. The results demonstrated that GZCIS/ZnS QDs could be a dual-modal contrast agent to simultaneously produce strong MR contrast enhancement as well as fluorescence emission forin vivoimaging.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nanobiotechnology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Composites and Functional Materials, Tianjin, 300072, China ; Laboratory of Molecular Imaging and Nanomedicine, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Weisheng
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nanobiotechnology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Composites and Functional Materials, Tianjin, 300072, China.
authors.forename: Weitao
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging and Functional Imaging, Department of Radiology, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School of Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Imaging and Nanomedicine, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Xiaolian
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nanobiotechnology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Composites and Functional Materials, Tianjin, 300072, China.
authors.forename: Zhongyun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: The Institute for Biomedical Engineering and Nano Science, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200092, China.
authors.forename: Bingbo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nanobiotechnology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Composites and Functional Materials, Tianjin, 300072, China.
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Imaging and Nanomedicine, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Xiaoyuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
keywords: CuInS2 quantum dot; gadolinium doped; magnetic resonance imaging; multimodality imaging; photoluminescence