title: Direct water-phase synthesis of lead sulfide quantum dots encapsulated by β-lactoglobulin for in vivo second near infrared window imaging with reduced toxicity.
abstract: Compared to conventional fluorescence imaging in the visible (400-700 nm) and NIR-I regions (700-900 nm), optical fluorescence imaging in the second near infrared window (NIR-II, 1000-1400 nm) offers reduced photon scattering, deeper tissue penetration and lower auto-fluorescence. Despite excellent imaging capabilities, current NIR-II probes have not yet reached their full potential due to weak quantum yield, low water solubility and suboptimal biocompatibility. To address these problems, we report herein a new NIR-II fluorescent PbS quantum dots (QDs) that are fabricated in water using β-lactoglobulin (LG) as a biological template. The LG-PbS QDs exhibit satisfactory dispersibility, relatively high quantum yield and favorable biocompatibility, and therefore are suitable for high-resolution in vivo imaging applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Sports Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China. liyunxia912@aliyun.com cshiyi@163.com.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Astbury Structure for Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.
authors.forename: Yifei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastric and Pancreatic Surgery, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangzhou 510060, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Anhui 233004, China.
authors.forename: Hongwei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wo
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Astbury Structure for Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.
authors.forename: Dejian
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Sports Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China. liyunxia912@aliyun.com cshiyi@163.com.
authors.forename: Ziying
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Sports Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China. liyunxia912@aliyun.com cshiyi@163.com.
authors.forename: Yunxia
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Sports Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China. liyunxia912@aliyun.com cshiyi@163.com.
authors.forename: Shiyi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D007782:Lactoglobulins / Q000737:chemistry*; D007854:Lead / Q000737:chemistry*; D045663:Quantum Dots / Q000737:chemistry*; D012995:Solubility; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared / Q000379:methods; D013440:Sulfides / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D007782:Lactoglobulins; D013440:Sulfides; D014867:Water; C018391:lead sulfide; D007854:Lead