Luminescent properties of water-soluble denatured bovine serum albumin-coated CdTe quantum dots

Chemically reduced bovine serum albumin (BSA) has been used to modify the surface of water-soluble CdTe quantum dots (QDs). It is demonstrated that the denatured BSA (dBSA) can be conjugated to the surface of CdTe QDs and thereby efficiently improve the chemical stability and the photoluminescence quantum yield (PL QY) of the QDs. It is inferred that a shell-like complex structure CdTe(x)(dBSA)(1-x) will form on the surface of the CdTe "core", resulting in the enhancement of PL intensity and the blue shift of the PL peak. This study of the effects of pH and dBSA concentration on optical properties of dBSA-coated QDs suggests that, at pH 6-9, the solution of dBSA-coated CdTe QDs can keep substantial stability and fluorescent brightness, whereas further increase of pH value leads to a dramatic decrease in PL QY and chemical stability. On the other hand, too high or too low initial dBSA concentration in the QD solution results in a decrease of PL QY for dBSA-coated CdTe QDs. This study provides a new approach of preparing stable water-soluble QDs with high PL QY and controllable luminescent colors for biological labeling applications.     

硫脲修饰法制备高发光性能CdTe量子点

通过巯基水解制备了具有优异荧光特性的碲化镉量子点. 详细研究前驱体镉离子与巯基丙酸(MPA)摩尔比、镉离子浓度等制备条件对大尺寸、高量子产率的亲水性碲化镉量子点光学性能的影响. 在不同的水热生长时间下, 可制备出荧光发射峰位于485-660 nm范围内的不同尺寸的碲化镉水溶性量子点, 荧光发射峰半高宽控制在40-75 nm之间, 量子点的最高量子产率(QY)达到了45%. 并利用硫脲缓慢水解和光解释放自由硫离子, 修饰碲化镉表面, 检测修饰后的量子点在12天内光学性能的变化情况. 通过考察硫脲用量对量子点修饰效果, 发现当n(CdTe)/n(thiourea)=1:4(量子点浓度以镉离子浓度计)时, 硫脲对发射峰为505 nm的碲化镉量子点修饰效果最为理想, 量子点荧光强度加强了5倍, 量子产率达到68.3%.     

Photoinduced fluorescence enhancement in mono- and multilayer films of CdSe/ZnS quantum dots: dependence on intensity and wavelength of excitation light

Photoinduced fluorescence enhancement (PFE) behavior in mono- and multilayer films of CdSe/ZnS core/shell quantum dots (QDs) on glass substrates was investigated using various intensities and wavelengths of excitation light. CdSe/ZnS QDs capped with tri-n-octylphosphine oxide (TOPO) were produced using colloidal chemical synthesis, and mono- and multilayer QD films were fabricated on glass substrates by spin coating. The fluorescence quantum yield (QY) of the QD monolayer was greatly enhanced by continuous irradiation in a dry nitrogen atmosphere, whereas the QD multilayer showed a small enhancement of the QY or fluorescence intensity decay. In addition, the shorter the excitation wavelength, the more pronounced the PFE. The rate of increase of the QY increased with decreasing excitation intensities at any wavelength. These dependences were observed in both mono- and multilayer films. Our results suggest that the photoejection of electrons to the substrate is the origin of PFE. Assuming the charging effect of electrons trapped in the substrate, a phenomenological model is proposed to explain all of the experimental results, that is, the dependence on the intensity and wavelength of excitation light and the qualitative difference in PFE behavior between mono- and multilayer films.     

Forming highly fluorescent near-infrared emitting PbS quantum dots in water using glutathione as surface-modifying molecule

We present a new facile procedure for transferring oil-soluble oleic acid-capped NIR-emitting PbS quantum dots (QDs) into water, using hydrophilic thiol ligands as the surface-modifying agents of the primary capping molecules (oleic acid). The influence of exchange of the primary capping molecules with five different types of thiol molecules is investigated. The results show that highly fluorescent water-soluble PbS QDs are obtained using glutathione as a surface-modifying agent (photoluminescence quantum yield (PL QY), >30%); significantly less fluorescent water-soluble QDs were obtained using l-cysteine (PL QY, ~5%); with other three thiol molecules, PbS QDs lose almost completely their fluorescence in aqueous solution. This striking difference among the five thiol molecules may be attributed to the difference in the molecular structure. Next, we explored systematically the conditions of QD water solubilization, storage stability, photostability and cytotoxicity and tested further the resulting water-soluble PbS QDs for the imaging of living animals. The preliminary results from these studies illustrate that our synthesis procedure is very facile and that the as-prepared water-soluble PbS QDs are stable and low-cytotoxic and will be an important potential probe in the imaging of living animals due to free carboxyl and amino groups on the external surface of the QDs.     

Photochemical instability of thiol-capped CdTe quantum dots in aqueous solution and living cells: process and mechanism

The process and mechanism of photochemical instability of thiol-capped CdTe quantum dots (QDs) in aqueous solution were experimentally studied. After laser irradiation, the corresponding Raman bands of the Cd-S bond decreased obviously, indicating bond breaking and thiol detachment from the QD surfaces. Meanwhile, a photoinduced aggregation of QDs occurred with the hydrodynamic diameter increased to hundreds of nanometers from an initial 20 nm, as detected with dynamic light scattering measurements. The bleaching of the photoluminescence of QDs under laser irradiation could be attributed to the enhanced nonradiative transfer in excited QDs caused by increased surface defects due to the losing of thiol ligands. Singlet oxygen (1O2) was involved in the photooxidation of QDs, as revealed by the inhibiting effects of 1O2 quenchers of histidine or sodium azide (NaN3) on the photobleaching of QDs. The linear relationship in Stern-Volmer measurements between the terminal product and the concentration of NaN3 demonstrated that 1O2 was the main pathway of the photobleaching in QD solutions. By comparing the photostability of QDs in C2C12 cells with and without NaN3 treatment, the photooxidation effect of 1O2 on photobleaching of cellular QDs was confirmed.     

Capillary electrophoresis immunoassays with conjugated quantum dots

Water-soluble CdTe quantum dots (QDs) and their conjugates with antibodies and antigenes were prepared by optimized procedures for applications in CE immunoassays. The QD size of 3.5 nm, excitation spectrum in the range of 300-500 nm, the maximum wavelength of the emission spectrum at 610 nm, quantum yield of 0.25 and luminescence lifetimes in the range of 3.6-43 ns were determined. The 0.1 M solution of TRIS/TAPS (pH 8.3) was found to be the optimum buffer for the separation of the antiovalbumin-ovalbumin immunocomplex from the free conjugates of QDs.     

Temperature-dependent photoluminescence of highly luminescent water-soluble CdTe quantum dots

Highly luminescent water-soluble CdTe quantum dots(QDs) have been synthesized with an electrogenerated precursor.The obtained CdTe QDs can possess good crystallizability,high quantum yield(QY) and favorable stability.Furthermore,a detection system is designed firstly for the investigation of the temperature-dependent PL of the QDs.     

Aptamer-capped nanocrystal quantum dots: a new method for label-free protein detection

We demonstrate that aptamer-capped near-infrared PbS quantum dots (QDs) can detect a target protein based on selective charge transfer. The water-soluble QDs are synthesized with the thrombin-binding aptamer, which retains the secondary quadruplex structure necessary for binding to thrombin. These QDs have diameters of 3-6 nm and fluoresce around 1050 nm. When the aptamer-functionalized QD binds to its target, a fluorescence quenching occurs due to charge transfer from amine groups on the protein to the QD. Thrombin is detected within 1 min with a detection limit of approximately 1 nM. This selective detection is observed even in the presence of high background concentrations of interfering negatively or positively charged proteins, suggesting that aptamer-capped QDs could be useful for label-free protein assays.     

Surface-plasmon-coupled emission of quantum dots

We studied surface plasmon-coupled emission (SPCE) of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs). These QDs are water-soluble ZnS-capped CdSe nanoparticles stabilized using lysine cross-linked mercaptoundecanoic acid. The QDs were spin-coated from 0.75% PVA solution on a glass slide covered with 50 nm of silver and a 5-nm protective SiO(2) layer. Excited QDs induced surface plasmons in a thin silver layer. Surface plasmons emitted a hollow cone of radiation into an attached hemispherical glass prism at a narrow angle of 48.5 degrees. This directional radiation (SPCE) preserves the spectral properties of QD emission and is highly p-polarized irrespective of the excitation polarization. The SPCE spectrum depends on the observation angle because of the intrinsic dispersive properties of SPCE phenomenon. The remarkable photostability can make QDs superior to organic fluorophores when long exposure to the intense excitation is needed. The nanosize QDs also introduce a roughness near the metal layer, which results in a many-fold increase of the coupling of the incident light to the surface plasmons. This scattered incident illumination transformed into directional, polarized radiation can be used simultaneously with SPCE to develop devices based on both quantum dot emission and light scattered from surface plasmons on a rough surface.     

液-液界面制备近红外荧光Ag_2S量子点

利用液-液界面反应体系,使分别溶解在油相中的银前体和水相中的硫前体在液滴界面发生反应,在室温条件下成功制备出近红外荧光Ag_2S量子点。采用透射电子显微镜(TEM)、X-射线衍射光谱(XRD)、傅立叶变换红外(FT-IR)光谱和荧光光谱等对产物进行了表征。结果表明,此方法成功制得了粒径较均一的Ag_2S量子点,纯化后经加热熟化处理其量子产率可达2.68%。另外实验发现,通过改变投料比即可实现Ag_2S量子点的粒径控制及荧光发射峰波长调控(1 170nm至1 279nm)。     

Preparation of High‐Performance Water‐Soluble Quantum Dots for Biorecognition through Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer

An improved method for the synthesis of high‐performance and water‐soluble quantum dots (QDs) involving the encapsulation of mercaptosuccinic acid coated QDs (MSA‐QDs) with poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) followed by their direct photoactivation with fluorescent radiation near 295 K to yield PDDA‐coated QDs (PDDA‐QDs) has been demonstrated. The quantum yield (QY) of the PDDA‐QDs was significantly improved from 0.6 (QY of MSA‐QDs) to 48 %. By using this synthetic strategy, highly photoluminescent PDDA‐QDs of varied size were readily prepared. The surface properties of PDDA‐QDs and MSA‐QDs were extensively characterized. The highly luminescent and positively charged PDDA‐QDs serve as a useful and convenient tool for protein adsorption. With a Δ⁵‐3‐ketosteroid isomerase adsorbed PDDA‐QD complex, the biorecognition of steroids was demonstrated through the application of fluorescent resonance energy transfer.     

Optical and dynamic properties of water-soluble highly luminescent CdTe quantum dots

CdTe quantum dots (QDs) were synthesized in aqueous solution using thioglycolic acid (HS-CH2COOH, TGA) as a stabilizer. The phenomenon of "on" and "off" luminescence intermittency (blinking) of CdTe QDs in PVA and trehalose was investigated by single-molecule optical microscopy, and we identified that the intermittencies of single QDs were correlated with the interaction of water molecules absorbed on the QD surface. The "off" times, the interval between adjacent "on" states, remained essentially unaffected with an increase in excitation intensity. Every QD showed a similar power law behavior for the "off" time distribution regardless of the excitation intensity and aqueous environment of the QDs. In the case of "on" time distribution, power law behavior with an exponential cutoff tail is observed at longer time scales. The time traces indicated that the "on" time was inversely proportional to the excitation intensity; the duration of "on" time became shorter with increasing excitation intensity. An increase in the duration of "on" time was observed in trehalose with respect to that in PVA. We obtained a clear decrease in the power law exponent when PVA was replaced with trehalose. These observations indicate that the luminescence blinking statistics of water-soluble single CdTe QDs is significantly dependent on the aqueous environment, which is interpreted in terms of passivation of the surface trap states of QDs.     

Microwave-assisted Synthesis of CdTe Quantum Dots Using 3-Mercaptopropionic Acid as Both a Reducing Agent and a Stabilizer

In this paper, a facile synthetic approach to prepare CdTe quantum dots(QDs) with high luminescence via a one-pot microwave irradiation reaction route using 3-mercaptopropionic acid(MPA) as both a sodium tellurite reducer and a capping molecule was described, and the mechanism of the formation of CdTe QDs was elucidated. In this approach, CdTe QDs with six different emission wavelengths of 553, 567, 577, 595, 608 and 615 nm were obtained via changing the refluxing time and the quantum yields(QY) of these QDs were 40.6%, 55.3%, 63.6%, 43.4%, 37.4% and 29.7%, respectively. The characterization results of X-ray powder diffraction(XRD) and transmission electron microscopy(TEM) indicate that the obtained QDs have a pure cubic zinc blended structure with a spherical shape. No toxic gases were released during the preparation process, indicating that the method is relatively fast, cheap and environmentally friendly.     

Tuning Optical Properties of Si Quantum Dots by π‐Conjugated Capping Molecules

The absorption and photoluminescence (PL) properties of silicon quantum dots (QDs) are greatly influenced by their size and surface chemistry. Herein, we examined the optical properties of three Si QDs with increasing σ–π conjugation length: octyl‐, (trimethylsilyl)vinyl‐, and 2‐phenylvinyl‐capped Si QDs. The PL photon energy obtained from as‐prepared samples decreased by 0.1–0.3 eV, while the PL excitation (PLE) extended from 360 nm (octyl‐capped Si QDs) to 400 nm (2‐phenylvinyl‐capped Si QDs). A vibrational PL feature was observed in all samples with an energy separation of about 0.192±0.013 eV, which was explained based on electron–phonon coupling. After soft oxidization through drying, all samples showed blue PL with maxima at approximately 410 nm. A similar high‐energy peak was observed with the bare Si QD sample. The changes in the optical properties of Si QDs were mainly explained by the formation of additional states arising from the strong σ–π conjugation and QD oxidation.     

Synthesis of AgInS2 QDs in droplet microreactors: Online fluorescence regulating through temperature control

We designed a temperature-controllable droplet microreactor with more precisely temperature control and shorter synthesis time for water-soluble AgInS₂ QDs synthesis. When reaction temperature increased from 30 ℃ to 70 ℃, QDs fluorescence peak constantly red-shifted from 590 nm to 720 nm along with enhanced fluorescence QY and intensity, we can get products with the maximum fluorescence intensity and the QY of 8.8% at 70 ℃.     

A Ligand System for the Flexible Functionalization of Quantum Dots via Click Chemistry

We present a novel ligand, 5‐norbornene‐2‐nonanoic acid, which can be directly added during established quantum dot (QD) syntheses in organic solvents to generate “clickable” QDs at a few hundred nmol scale. This ligand has a carboxyl group at one terminus to bind to the surface of QDs and a norbornene group at the opposite end that enables straightforward phase transfer of QDs into aqueous solutions via efficient norbornene/tetrazine click chemistry. Our ligand system removes the traditional ligand‐exchange step and can produce water‐soluble QDs with a high quantum yield and a small hydrodynamic diameter of approximately 12 nm at an order of magnitude higher scale than previous methods. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach by incubating azido‐functionalized CdSe/CdS QDs with 4T1 cancer cells that are metabolically labeled with a dibenzocyclooctyne‐bearing unnatural sugar. The QDs exhibit high targeting efficiency and minimal nonspecific binding.     

Plasmonic resonance instigated enhanced photoluminescence in quantum dot dispersed nematic liquid crystal

In the present investigation, the optical property of the nematic sample p-methoxybenzylidene p-decylaniline, dispersed with SiO₂ quantum dot (QD), has been reported. Enhanced luminescence has been observed from nematic-QD composites. Surface plasmonic effect along with QD exciton has been highlighted to discuss the observed intensification in photoluminescence. The intensified photoemission from the nematic composites can also be inferred from improved orientational behaviour of the liquid crystal molecules due to dispersion of QDs. Variation in the intensity of photoabsorption can be harnessed for development of luminescent display devices and optical parameter-driven scientific applications.     

Influence of quantum dot's quantum yield to chemiluminescent resonance energy transfer

The resonance energy transfer between chemiluminescence donor (luminol-H₂O₂ system) and quantum dots (QDs, emission at 593 nm) acceptors (CRET) was investigated. The resonance energy transfer efficiencies were compared while the oil soluble QDs, water soluble QDs (modified with thioglycolate) and QD-HRP conjugates were used as acceptor. The fluorescence of QD can be observed in the three cases, indicating that the CRET occurs while QD acceptor in different status was used. The highest CRET efficiency (10.7%) was obtained in the case of oil soluble QDs, and the lowest CRET efficiency (2.7%) was observed in the QD-HRP conjugates case. This result is coincident with the quantum yields of the acceptors (18.3% and 0.4%). The same result was observed in another similar set of experiment, in which the amphiphilic polymer modified QDs (emission at 675 nm) were used. It suggests that the quantum yield of the QD in different status is the crucial factor to the CRET efficiency. Furthermore, the multiplexed CRET between luminol donor and three different sizes QD acceptors was observed simultaneously. This work will offer useful support for improving the CRET studies based on quantum dots.     

Characterization and separation of semiconductor quantum dots and their conjugates by capillary electrophoresis

Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) are very important luminescent nanomaterials with a wide range of potential applications. Currently, QDs as labeling probes are broadly used in bioassays, including immunoassay, DNA hybridization, and bioimaging, due to their excellent physical and chemical properties, such as broad excitation spectra, narrow and size‐dependent emission profiles, long fluorescence life time, and good photostability. The characterization of QDs and their conjugates is crucial for their wide bioapplications. CE has become a powerful tool for the separation and characterization of QDs and their conjugates. In this review, some CE separation models of QDs are first introduced, mainly including CZE, CGE, MEKC, and ITP. And then, some key applications, such as the measurements of size, surface charge, and concentration of QDs and the characterization of QDs conjugates (e.g. QD–protein, QD–DNA, QD–small molecule), are also described. Finally, future perspectives are discussed.     

Hydrophilic alginate based multidentate biopolymers for surface modification of CdS quantum dots

We report that sodium alginate and its graft-copolymers with (2-dimethylaminoethyl) methacrylate may attach to the surface of colloidal CdS-thioglycerol quantum dots (QDs) via a ligand exchange process and result in water-soluble and highly stable QD supramolecules. Optical properties of modified QDs in water showed that the emission intensity of QDs was still high after surface passivation.