Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Antimicrobial and biocompatibility of highly fluorescent ZnSe core and ZnSe@ZnS core-shell quantum dots

  • Research Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Nanoparticle Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Present study reports synthesis of Cd-free core-only and core-shell quantum dots (ZnSe of size 3.60 ± 0.12 nm and ZnSe@ZnS of size 4.80 ± 0.20 nm) having excellent fluorescent properties, stability, and aqueous solubility. The fluorescence behavior of these quantum dots (QDs) was utilized for cancer cell imaging and their comparative toxicity in cancerous (HeLa) and normal (HEK-293) cell lines was evaluated. The LC50 parameter of ZnSe (1.8 and 2.6 mg/ml) was significantly lower than that of ZnSe@ZnS (3.8 and 4.5 mg/ml) for the aforesaid cell lines which indicated higher toxicity of the core-only QD in comparison to the core-shell structure. Further, the cellular uptake and fluorescence intensity of core-shell QD was significantly higher. Furthermore, the antimicrobial property of both type of QDs was evaluated on microbes (Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus) and core-shell structure was found to possess higher antimicrobial property towards gram-positive bacteria S. aureus, but was non-toxic to E. coli. These results suggested that surface modification of ZnSe with ZnS shell helps to enhance the fluorescence property and make these more biocompatible for biomedical applications. The non-toxicity towards E. coli also makes it suitable for labeling the microbial cell surface and for mapping the cellular metabolism.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alivisatos P (2004) The use of nanocrystals in biological detection. Nat Biotechnol 22:47–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruchez M, Moronne M, Gin P et al (1998) Semiconductor nanocrystals as fluorescent biological labels. Science 281:2013–2016

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bunschoten A, Welling MM, Termaat MF, Sathekge M, van Leeuwen FWB (2013) Development and prospects of dedicated tracers for the molecular imaging of bacterial infections. Bioconjug Chem 24:1971–1989

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chan WC, Nie S (1998) Quantum dot bioconjugates for ultrasensitive nonisotopic detection. Science 281:2016–2018

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chan W-H, Shiao N-H, Lu P-Z (2006) CdSe quantum dots induce apoptosis in human neuroblastoma cells via mitochondrial-dependent pathways and inhibition of survival signals. Toxicol Lett 167:191–200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen N, He Y, Su Y, Li X, Huang Q, Wang H, Zhang X, Tai R, Fan C (2012) The cytotoxicity of cadmium-based quantum dots. Biomaterials 33:1238–1244

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cho SJ, Maysinger D, Jain M, Röder B, Hackbarth S, Winnik FM (2007) Long-term exposure to CdTe quantum dots causes functional impairments in live cells. Langmuir 23:1974–1980

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chou W-C, Yuan C-T, Chuu D-S, Chang WH, Lin H-S, Ruaan R-C (2006) Fluorescence properties of colloidal CdSe/ZnS quantum dots with various surface modifications. J Med Biol Eng 26:131–135

    Google Scholar 

  • Dabbousi BO, Rodriguez-Viejo J, Mikulec FV, Heine JR, Mattoussi H, Ober R, Jensen KF, Bawendi MG (1997) (CdSe) ZnS core- shell quantum dots: synthesis and characterization of a size series of highly luminescent nanocrystallites. J Phys Chem B 101:9463–9475

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Derfus AM, Chan WC, Bhatia SN (2004) Probing the cytotoxicity of semiconductor quantum dots. Nano Lett 4:11–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dubertret B, Skourides P, Norris DJ, Noireaux V, Brivanlou AH, Libchaber A (2002) In vivo imaging of quantum dots encapsulated in phospholipid micelles. Science 298:1759–1762

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dey AB, Sanyal MK, Farrer I, Perumal K, Ritchie DA, Li Q, Wu J, Dravid V (2018) Correlating fluorescence and structural properties of uncapped and GaAs capped epitaxial InGaAs quantum dots. Sci Rep 8:7514

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gun’ko YK (2016) Nanoparticles in Bioimaging. Nanomaterials 6:105–106

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hai X, Feng J, Chen X et al (2018) Tuning optical properties of graphene quantum dots for biosensing and bioimaging. J Mater Chem B 6:3219–3234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayden SC, Zhao G, Saha K, Phillips RL, Li X, Miranda OR, Rotello VM, el-Sayed MA, Schmidt-Krey I, Bunz UHF (2012) Aggregation and interaction of cationic nanoparticles on bacterial surfaces. J Am Chem Soc 134:6920–6923

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hines MA, Guyot-Sionnest P (1996) Synthesis and characterization of strongly luminescing ZnS-capped CdSe nanocrystals. J Phys Chem 100:468–471

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jorgensen JH (1993) Methods for dilution antimicrobial susceptibility tests for bacteria that grow aerobically: approved standard: NCCLS document M7-A3

  • Khanam R, Kumar R, Hejazi II et al (2018) Piperazine clubbed with 2-azetidinone derivatives suppresses proliferation, migration and induces apoptosis in human cervical cancer HeLa cells through oxidative stress mediated intrinsic mitochondrial pathway. Apoptosis 23:1–19

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khatoon N, Ahmad R, Sardar M (2015) Robust and fluorescent silver nanoparticles using Artemisia annua: biosynthesis, characterization and antibacterial activity. Biochem Eng J 102:91–97

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khosla M, Rao S, Gupta S (2018) Polarons explain luminescence behaviour of colloidal quantum dots at low temperature. Sci Rep 8:8385

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim JS, Kuk E, Yu KN, Kim JH, Park SJ, Lee HJ, Kim SH, Park YK, Park YH, Hwang CY, Kim YK, Lee YS, Jeong DH, Cho MH (2007) Antimicrobial effects of silver nanoparticles. Nanomedicine 3:95–101

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kwamboka B, Omwoyo W, Oyaro N (2016) Synthesis, characterization and antimicrobial activity of ZnS nanoparticles. Ind J Nanosci 4(2):1–6

    Google Scholar 

  • Lin G, Chen T, Zou J et al (2017) Quantum dots-siRNA nanoplexes for gene silencing in central nervous system tumor cells. Front Pharmacol 8:182

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu Y-J, Liang Z-H, Hong X-L, Li ZZ, Yao JH, Huang HL (2012) Synthesis, characterization, cytotoxicity, apoptotic inducing activity, cellular uptake, interaction of DNA binding and antioxidant activity studies of ruthenium (II) complexes. Inorg Chim Acta 387:117–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Male KB, Lachance B, Hrapovic S, Sunahara G, Luong JHT (2008) Assessment of cytotoxicity of quantum dots and gold nanoparticles using cell-based impedance spectroscopy. Anal Chem 80:5487–5493

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mir IA, Rawat K, Bohidar HB (2016) Cadmium-free aqueous synthesis of ZnSe and ZnSe@ ZnS core–shell quantum dots and their differential bioanalyte sensing potential. Mater Res Express 3:105014

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mir IA, Rawat K, Bohidar HB (2017) Interaction of plasma proteins with ZnSe and ZnSe@ ZnS core-shell quantum dots. Colloids Surf A Physicochem Eng Asp 520:131–137

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Munro T, Liu L, Glorieux C, Ban H (2016) CdSe/ZnS quantum dot fluorescence spectra shape-based thermometry via neural network reconstruction. J Appl Phys 119:214903

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mytar B, Siedlar M, Woloszyn M, Ruggiero I, Pryjma J, Zembala M (1999) Induction of reactive oxygen intermediates in human monocytes by tumour cells and their role in spontaneous monocyte cytotoxicity. Br J Cancer 79:737–743

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peng X, Schlamp MC, Kadavanich AV, Alivisatos AP (1997) Epitaxial growth of highly luminescent CdSe/CdS core/shell nanocrystals with photostability and electronic accessibility. J Am Chem Soc 119:7019–7029

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pu Y, Cai F, Wang D, Wang J-X, Chen J-F (2018) Colloidal synthesis of semiconductor quantum dots towards large- scale production: a review. Ind Eng Chem Res 57:1790–1802

  • Shukla M, Kumari S, Shukla S, Shukla RK (2012) Potent antibacterial activity of nano CdO synthesized via microemulsion scheme. J Mater Environ Sci 3:678–685

    Google Scholar 

  • Simon H-U, Haj-Yehia A, Levi-Schaffer F (2000) Role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in apoptosis induction. Apoptosis 5:415–418

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh B, Kaur G, Singh P, Singh K, Kumar B, Vij A, Kumar M, Bala R, Meena R, Singh A, Thakur A, Kumar A (2016) Nanostructured boron nitride with high water dispersibility for boron neutron capture therapy. Sci Rep 6:35535

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sinha R, Karan R, Sinha A, Khare SK (2011) Interaction and nanotoxic effect of ZnO and Ag nanoparticles on mesophilic and halophilic bacterial cells. Bioresour Technol 102:1516–1520

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Song H, Rao H, Zhong X (2018) Recent advances in electrolytes for quantum dot-sensitized solar cells. J Mater Chem 6:4895–4913

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vanaja M, Rajeshkumar S, Paulkumar K et al (2013) Phytosynthesis and characterization of silver nanoparticles using stem extract of Coleus aromaticus. Int J Mater Biomater Appl 3:1–4

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang R, Zhou L, Wang W, Li X, Zhang F (2017) In vivo gastrointestinal drug-release monitoring through second near-infrared window fluorescent bioimaging with orally delivered microcarriers. Nat Commun 8:14702

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yuan G, Gomez DE, Kirkwood N, Boldt et al (2018a) Two mechanisms determine quantum dot blinking. ACS Nano 12:3397–3405

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yuan P, Cai F, Wang D et al (2018b) Colloidal synthesis of semiconductor quantum dots towards large scale production: a review. Ind Eng Chem Res 57:1790–1802

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang L, Jiang Y, Ding Y, Povey M, York D (2007) Investigation into the antibacterial behaviour of suspensions of ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO nanofluids). J Nanopart Res 9:479–489

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

IAM acknowledges the University Grants Commission, Government of India for Research Fellowship. KR is thankful to the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India-Inspire Faculty Award. We are thankful to the Advanced Research Instrumentation Facility (AIRF) of the University for allowing us access to their facilities.

Funding

This research was supported by a DST-PURSE-II grant of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Physical Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067, India

    Irshad Ahmad Mir, Eepsita Priyadarshini & H. B. Bohidar

  2. Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, 110025, India

    Hammad Alam & Meryam Sardar Rizvi

  3. School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067, India

    Ramavatar Meena & Paulraj Rajamani

  4. Special Center for Nanosciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067, India

    Kamla Rawat & H. B. Bohidar

  5. Inter University Accelerator Centre, New Delhi, 110067, India

    Kamla Rawat

Authors
  1. Irshad Ahmad Mir
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hammad Alam
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Eepsita Priyadarshini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ramavatar Meena
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Kamla Rawat
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Paulraj Rajamani
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Meryam Sardar Rizvi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. H. B. Bohidar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to H. B. Bohidar.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Electronic supplementary material

ESM 1

(DOCX 28 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Mir, I.A., Alam, H., Priyadarshini, E. et al. Antimicrobial and biocompatibility of highly fluorescent ZnSe core and ZnSe@ZnS core-shell quantum dots. J Nanopart Res 20, 174 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-018-4281-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-018-4281-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation