Abstract
A surface modification approach adopting polymer encapsulation was developed to prepare zwitterion-like quantum dots (ZWL-QDs). The fundamental physical, chemical, and biological properties of the ZWL-QDs were characterized. It is found that the ZWL-QDs almost preserve the quantum yield (QY) of native hydrophobic QDs in organic solvents, and also are compact in size (7 ~ 10 nm hydrodynamic diameter) and stable over wide pHs or in high salinity solutions. Further cellular study shows that the ZWL-QDs with a concentration less than 100 nM have a minimal cytotoxicity and thus are biocompatible. Characterizing and understanding these essential properties of the ZWL-QDs are an important step before employing them for various applications.
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This research was supported by the National Institute of Health through the grant #1P20GM103650-01.
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Huang, L., Liao, M., Chen, S. et al. A polymer encapsulation approach to prepare zwitterion-like, biocompatible quantum dots with wide pH and ionic stability. J Nanopart Res 16, 2555 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-014-2555-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-014-2555-3