PUBLICATION
Crosslinked, Glassy Styrenic Surfactants Stabilize Quantum Dots Against Environmental Extremes
- Authors
- Shibasaki, Y., Kim, B.S., Young, A.J., McLoon, A.L., Ekker, S.C., Taton, T.A.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-161207-8
- Date
- 2009
- Source
- Journal of Materials Chemistry 19: 6324-6327 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Ekker, Stephen C.
- Keywords
- none
- MeSH Terms
- none
- PubMed
- 27917026 Full text @ J. Mater. Chem.
Citation
Shibasaki, Y., Kim, B.S., Young, A.J., McLoon, A.L., Ekker, S.C., Taton, T.A. (2009) Crosslinked, Glassy Styrenic Surfactants Stabilize Quantum Dots Against Environmental Extremes. Journal of Materials Chemistry. 19:6324-6327.
Abstract
Semiconductor, quantum dot (QD) nanoparticles (including CdSe/ZnS, CdTe/ZnS, and CdSe) were encapsulated within cross-linked shells of amphiphilic polystyrene-block-poly(acrylic acid) block copolymer. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that each particle was surrounded by a uniform, layer of copolymer, and that the average diameter of the resulting QD-core micelles was between 25 and 50 nm, depending on the conditions of particle assembly. Overall, we found that aqueous suspensions of these QDs were substantially more stable to heat and pH than particles with other surface preparations; we argue that the enhanced stability is due to the uniform, hydrophobic coating of polystyrene around each particle and the reinforcement of this layer by shell-cross-linking. The biocompatibility of these particles was investigated by microinjection of particle suspension into live zebrafish embryos. The particles permanently stained the fish vasculature, but did not interfere with the normal development of the fish. We propose that QDs encapsulated in cross-linked block-copolymer shells allow QDs to be used in biological or biotechnological protocols requiring harsh reaction conditions.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping