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Nano Research 2022, 15(9): 8351-8359 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-022-4426-z
Research Article | Issue | Published: 31 May 2022

Aqueous synthesis of bright near-infrared-emitting Zn-Cu-In-Se quantum dots for multiplexed detection of tumor markers

Show Author's Information Hui Liu1,  Peng Cai2,  Kevin J. McHugh3,  Collin F. Perkinson4,  Laishuo Li1,  Shuna Wang1,  Wei Wang1,  Mingxia Jiao1( ),  Xiliang Luo1( ),  Lihong Jing5( )
Key Laboratory of Optic-electric Sensing and Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, MOE, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266042, China
Qingdao Juchuang Environmental Protection Group Co., Ltd., Qingdao 266107, China
Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, MS-142, Houston, TX 77005, USA
Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Key Laboratory of Colloid, Interface and Chemical Thermodynamics, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Keywords:
quantum dots, photoluminescence, imaging, cadmium-free, aqueous synthesis
Topics:
Photoluminescence
Cite this article:
Liu H, Cai P, McHugh KJ, et al. Aqueous synthesis of bright near-infrared-emitting Zn-Cu-In-Se quantum dots for multiplexed detection of tumor markers. Nano Research, 2022, 15(9): 8351-8359. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-022-4426-z
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Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

Aqueous synthesis is a green but challenging pathway to produce cadmium-free, bright, and near-infrared (NIR) emitting quantum dots (QDs). Herein, we develop a straightforward aqueous phase approach to prepare Zn-Cu-In-Se QDs with tunable emission from 630 to 800 nm through varying the molar ratio of Zn and Cu. The ultrasmall nanoparticle size remains nearly fixed (~ 2.6 nm) when the QD composition is varied, allowing for the effects of composition on the optical properties of QDs to be decoupled from the impact of particle size. By leveraging the off-stoichiometric effect on photoluminescence (PL), Zn-Cu-In-Se QDs with a Zn:Cu molar ratio of 1.0 show a long PL decay lifetime of 211 ns and an absolute photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of 14.2%. The PLQY is further enhanced by overcoating a ZnS shell, reaching up to 25.8%. Based on the bright, biocompatible, and emission-tunable QDs, nanoprobes with targeting capability for multiple tumor markers are further constructed and employed to simultaneously ascertain targets in the cytoplasm and cell membrane. This study provides a green and effective strategy for achieving bright and biocompatible NIR quantum dots for multiplexed biodetection applications.


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Electronic supplementary material
About this article

Aqueous synthesis of bright near-infrared-emitting Zn-Cu-In-Se quantum dots for multiplexed detection of tumor markers

Show Author's information Hui Liu1, Peng Cai2, Kevin J. McHugh3, Collin F. Perkinson4, Laishuo Li1, Shuna Wang1, Wei Wang1, Mingxia Jiao1( ), Xiliang Luo1( ), Lihong Jing5( )
Key Laboratory of Optic-electric Sensing and Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, MOE, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266042, China
Qingdao Juchuang Environmental Protection Group Co., Ltd., Qingdao 266107, China
Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, MS-142, Houston, TX 77005, USA
Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Key Laboratory of Colloid, Interface and Chemical Thermodynamics, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China

Abstract

Aqueous synthesis is a green but challenging pathway to produce cadmium-free, bright, and near-infrared (NIR) emitting quantum dots (QDs). Herein, we develop a straightforward aqueous phase approach to prepare Zn-Cu-In-Se QDs with tunable emission from 630 to 800 nm through varying the molar ratio of Zn and Cu. The ultrasmall nanoparticle size remains nearly fixed (~ 2.6 nm) when the QD composition is varied, allowing for the effects of composition on the optical properties of QDs to be decoupled from the impact of particle size. By leveraging the off-stoichiometric effect on photoluminescence (PL), Zn-Cu-In-Se QDs with a Zn:Cu molar ratio of 1.0 show a long PL decay lifetime of 211 ns and an absolute photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of 14.2%. The PLQY is further enhanced by overcoating a ZnS shell, reaching up to 25.8%. Based on the bright, biocompatible, and emission-tunable QDs, nanoprobes with targeting capability for multiple tumor markers are further constructed and employed to simultaneously ascertain targets in the cytoplasm and cell membrane. This study provides a green and effective strategy for achieving bright and biocompatible NIR quantum dots for multiplexed biodetection applications.

Keywords: quantum dots, photoluminescence, imaging, cadmium-free, aqueous synthesis

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Publication history
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Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 28 February 2022
Revised: 08 April 2022
Accepted: 12 April 2022
Published: 31 May 2022
Issue date: September 2022

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press 2022

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgement

The authors thank the financial support from the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2018YFA0208800), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (Nos. 22177115, 81671755, and 21802083), the Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS (No. 2018042), the Taishan Scholar Program of Shandong Province of China (No. ts20110829), and Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (No. RR190056).

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