Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Glutathione-Capped CdTe/CdSe Near-Infrared Quantum Dots for Cell Imaging

Int J Mol Sci. 2015 May 19;16(5):11500-8. doi: 10.3390/ijms160511500.

Abstract

These glutathione (GSH)-conjugated CdTe/CdSe core/shell quantum dot (QD) nanoparticles in aqueous solution were synthesized using a microwave-assisted approach. The prepared type II core/shell QD nanoparticles were characterized by UV-Vis absorption, photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). Results revealed that the QD nanoparticles exhibited good dispersity, a uniform size distribution and tunable fluorescence emission in the near-infrared (NIR) region. In addition, these nanoparticles exhibited good biocompatibility and photoluminescence in cell imaging. In particular, this type of core/shell NIR QDs may have potential applications in molecular imaging.

Keywords: biomaterials; core/shell; glutathione; molecular imaging; near-infrared; quantum dots; semiconductors.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cadmium Compounds / chemistry*
  • Cell Line
  • Glutathione / chemistry*
  • Mice
  • Molecular Imaging* / methods
  • Nanoparticles / chemistry*
  • Nanoparticles / ultrastructure
  • Quantum Dots*
  • Selenium / chemistry*
  • Tellurium / chemistry*

Substances

  • Cadmium Compounds
  • Glutathione
  • Selenium
  • Tellurium