Controlling the Cytotoxicity of CdSe Magic-Sized Quantum Dots as a Function of Surface Defect Density
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- 作者：Anielle Christine Almeida Silva ; Marcelo Jos茅 Barbosa Silva ; Felipe Andr茅s Cordero da Luz ; Danielle Pereira Silva ; Samantha Luara Vieira de Deus ; Noelio Oliveira Dantas
- 刊名：Nano Letters
- 出版年：2014
- 出版时间：September 10, 2014
- 年：2014
- 卷：14
- 期：9
- 页码：5452-5457
- 全文大小：302K
- ISSN：1530-6992
文摘
Quantum dots are potentially very useful as fluorescent probes in biological systems. However, they are inherently cytotoxic because of their constituents. We controlled the cytotoxicity of CdSe magic-sized quantum dots (MSQDs) as a function of surface defect density by altering selenium (Se) concentration during synthesis. Higher Se concentrations reduced the cytotoxicity of the CdSe MSQDs and diminished mRNA expression of methallothionein because of the low cadmium ions (Cd2+) concentration adsorbed on the surface of the MSQDs. These results agree with luminescence spectra, which show that higher Se concentrations decrease the density of surface defects. Therefore, our results describe for the first time a simple way of controlling the cytotoxicity of CdSe MSQDs and making them safer to use as fluorescence probes in biological systems.