Stürzenbaum SR, Höckner M, Panneerselvam A, Levitt J, Bouillard JS, Taniguchi S, Dailey LA, Ahmad Khanbeigi R, Rosca EV, Thanou M, Suhling K, Zayats AV, Green M. Biosynthesis of luminescent quantum dots in an earthworm.
Nat Nanotechnol 2013;
8:57-60. [PMID:
23263722 DOI:
10.1038/nnano.2012.232]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2012] [Accepted: 11/16/2012] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
The synthesis of designer solid-state materials by living organisms is an emerging field in bio-nanotechnology. Key examples include the use of engineered viruses as templates for cobalt oxide (Co(3)O(4)) particles, superparamagnetic cobalt-platinum alloy nanowires and gold-cobalt oxide nanowires for photovoltaic and battery-related applications. Here, we show that the earthworm's metal detoxification pathway can be exploited to produce luminescent, water-soluble semiconductor cadmium telluride (CdTe) quantum dots that emit in the green region of the visible spectrum when excited in the ultraviolet region. Standard wild-type Lumbricus rubellus earthworms were exposed to soil spiked with CdCl(2) and Na(2)TeO(3) salts for 11 days. Luminescent quantum dots were isolated from chloragogenous tissues surrounding the gut of the worm, and were successfully used in live-cell imaging. The addition of polyethylene glycol on the surface of the quantum dots allowed for non-targeted, fluid-phase uptake by macrophage cells.
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