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RGDS-conjugated CdSeTe/CdS quantum dots as near-infrared fluorescent probe: preparation, characterization and bioapplication

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Abstract

In the experiments, high-quality, water-soluble and near-infrared (NIR)-emitting CdSeTe and CdSeTe/CdS quantum dots (QDs) were successfully prepared. The average size of CdSeTe⁄CdS QDs was 7.68 nm and CdSeTe QDs was 4.33 nm. Arginine-glycine-aspartic-serine acid (RGDS) peptides were linked to CdSeTe/CdS QDs by N-(3-(dimethylamino)propyl)-N′-ehtylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) and N′-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS). The prepared RGDS-tagged NIR CdSeTe/CdS QDs (denoted as RGDS-CdSeTe/CdS) had an average diameter of 24.83 nm and were used for cancer cell immunofluorescence imaging. The characteristics of RGDS-conjugated CdSeTe/CdS such as morphology, structure, spectra, stability, cytotoxicity, and near-infrared microscopic imaging were investigated in detail. HepG2 cells were incubated with the novel fluorescent probe (RGDS-CdSeTe/CdS), which realized immunofluorescence targeting and imaging. The results reported here open up new perspectives for integrin-targeted near-infrared imaging and may aid in tumor detection including imaging-guided surgery.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 20975072). We thank the Instrumental Analysis Center of Sichuan University for helping with characterization. We also thank Prof. Bin He and Prof. Xixun Yu for providing HepG2 cells and L929 cells.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610065, People’s Republic of China

    Zhenzhen Li, Qiyi Zhang, Huaying Huang, Changjing Ren, Yujin Pan, Qing Wang & Qiang Zhao

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  1. Zhenzhen Li
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  2. Qiyi Zhang
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  3. Huaying Huang
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  4. Changjing Ren
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  5. Yujin Pan
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  6. Qing Wang
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  7. Qiang Zhao
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Correspondence to Qiang Zhao.

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Zhenzhen Li and Qiyi Zhang are co-first authors

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Li, Z., Zhang, Q., Huang, H. et al. RGDS-conjugated CdSeTe/CdS quantum dots as near-infrared fluorescent probe: preparation, characterization and bioapplication. J Nanopart Res 18, 373 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-016-3669-6

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