The Influence of Surface Modification on the Photoluminescence of CdTe Quantum Dots: Realization of Bio-Imaging via Cost-Effective Polymer

Bright solid-state luminescence of green-red tunable CdTe@BaCO3 composite: Synthesis and properties

Realizing efficient solid-state luminescence is of great important to expand quantum dots (QDs) application fields. This work reports the preparation of CdTe@BaCO₃ composite by a one-pot precipitation method. Both steady-state PL and PL decay characteristics in either solid-state or colloid solution show no obvious difference, mainly benefited from the effective protection of BaCO₃ on QDs from the external environment. By utilizing green and red CdTe QDs as dual-color emission centers, precise emitting-color control from green (0.312, 0.667) to red (0.691, 0.292) could be achieved in CdTe@BaCO₃ composite by adjusting volume ratio of CdTe solution precursor. Our results demonstrate that this composite material shows bright solid-state luminescence and facile adjustment of the emitting color in QDs-based composite is feasible, which could offer new path to design color-tunable luminescent materials for future optoelectronic applications.

Scheelite like NaTb(WO4)2 nanoparticles: Green fluorescence and in vitro cell imaging applications

This study highlights the investigation of the green fluorescence in NaTb(WO₄)₂ materials (NaTbW Bulk and NaTbW Nano) synthesized via template free hydrothermal method as a function of particle size and morphology. Herein, we demonstrated the biocompatibility and intracellular green fluorescence of NaTbW Nano samples using HeLa cells for cell imaging applications. Powder X-ray diffraction studies showed that the as synthesized NaTbW Bulk and NaTbW Nano crystallize in the Scheelite like tetragonal crystal system with the I4₁/a space group. The reaction pH and solvent is observed to play a critical role in determining particle size, shape and morphology of these luminescent materials. Furthermore, size dependent optical properties were systematically studied by diffuse reflectance, steady state photoluminescence; time resolved fluorescence lifetime and quantum yield measurements. Both the materials have shown bright green fluorescence upon UV excitation as a function of particle size. Remarkable high quantum yield of NaTbW Bulk indicated its greater luminescence efficiency and the closer CIE coordinates to the commercial green illuminant suggested their potential use in solid state display systems. On the other hand the observed biocompatibility of NaTbW Nano particles towards mammalian cancer HeLa cells, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and the intracellular green fluorescence rightly proved its functionality as active bio-probes. Thus, our work summarize the potential use of these Scheelite like NaTb(WO₄)₂ material for solid state display and bio-imaging applications.

Photoluminescence properties of self-assembled chitosan-based composites containing semiconductor nanocrystals

The photoluminescence (PL) properties of composites obtained by embedding green-emitting semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) of two different types (thiol-capped CdTe and CdSe/ZnS) into chitosan-based biopolymer particles were investigated. The synthesis of self-assembled particles from oppositely charged polysaccharides involved a preliminary electrostatic binding of positively charged chitosan chains by negatively charged functional groups of NC stabilizing ligands. The amount of NCs and the acidity of the solution were found to be important parameters influencing the PL. The PL properties were mainly discussed in terms of the colloidal stability of the particles and changes in energy gap of NCs. Generally, the obtained biocompatible composites with NCs randomly distributed within a biopolymer particle demonstrated a higher PL resistance to the solution acidity that expands the applicability range of thiol-capped NCs.

Keratin: dissolution, extraction and biomedical application

Keratinous materials such as wool, feathers and hooves are tough unique biological co-products that usually have high sulfur and protein contents. A high cystine content (7-13%) differentiates keratins from other structural proteins, such as collagen and elastin. Dissolution and extraction of keratin is a difficult process compared to other natural polymers, such as chitosan, starch, collagen, and a large-scale use of keratin depends on employing a relatively fast, cost-effective and time efficient extraction method. Keratin has some inherent ability to facilitate cell adhesion, proliferation, and regeneration of the tissue, therefore keratin biomaterials can provide a biocompatible matrix for regrowth and regeneration of the defective tissue. Additionally, due to its amino acid constituents, keratin can be tailored and finely tuned to meet the exact requirement of degradation, drug release or incorporation of different hydrophobic or hydrophilic tails. This review discusses the various methods available for the dissolution and extraction of keratin with emphasis on their advantages and limitations. The impacts of various methods and chemicals used on the structure and the properties of keratin are discussed with the aim of highlighting options available toward commercial keratin production. This review also reports the properties of various keratin-based biomaterials and critically examines how these materials are influenced by the keratin extraction procedure, discussing the features that make them effective as biomedical applications, as well as some of the mechanisms of action and physiological roles of keratin. Particular attention is given to the practical application of keratin biomaterials, namely addressing the advantages and limitations on the use of keratin films, 3D composite scaffolds and keratin hydrogels for tissue engineering, wound healing, hemostatic and controlled drug release.

Tumor Cell-Specific Nuclear Targeting of Functionalized Graphene Quantum Dots In Vivo

Specific targeting of tumor tissues is essential for tumor imaging and therapeutics but remains challenging. Here, we report an unprecedented method using synthetic sulfonic-graphene quantum dots (sulfonic-GQDs) to exactly target the cancer cell nuclei in vivo without any bio- ligand modification, with no intervention in cells of normal tissues. The key factor for such selectivity is the high interstitial fluid pressure (IFP) in tumor tissues, which allows the penetration of sulfonic-GQDs into the plasma membrane of tumor cells. In vitro, the sulfonic-GQDs are repelled out of the cell membrane because of the repulsive force between negatively charged sulfonic-GQDs and the cell membranes which contributes to the low distribution in normal tissues in vivo. However, the plasma membrane-crossing process can be activated by incubating cells in ultrathin film culture medium because of the attachment of sulfonic-GQDs on cell memebranes. Molecular dynamics simulations demonstrated that, once transported across the plasma membrane, the negatively charged functional groups of these GQDs will leave the membrane with a self-cleaning function retaining a small enough size to achieve penetration through the nuclear membrane into the nucleus. Our study showed that IFP is a previously unrecognized mechanism for specific targeting of tumor cell nuclei and suggested that sulfonic-GQDs may be developed into novel tools for tumor-specific imaging and therapeutics.