Modification of CdTe quantum dots as temperature-insensitive bioprobes

CdTe quantum dots (QDs) were synthesized in aqueous solution with 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) as the stabilizer. The photoluminescence (PL) of CdTe QDs (3.5nm) is found to be temperature-dependent: as the temperature arising from 278K to 323K, the PL intensity declines to 50.2% of its original and PL emission peak shows obvious red-shift ( approximately 7nm). After modification of the QDs surface with denatured ovalbumin, the PL is more temperature-insensitive than before. The PL intensity retains more than 70% of its original and the emission peak shows less red-shift ( approximately 2nm). Moreover, it is found that the PL intensity and wavelength of denatured ovalbumin coated CdTe QDs are reversible during heating (323K)-cooling (278K) cycles. All the studies provide an important theoretical basis for searching temperature-insensitive bioprobes.