Stable DHLA–PEG capped PbS quantum dots: from synthesis to near-infrared biomedical imaging

Zamberlan, F.; Turyanska, L.; Patan�, A.; Liu, Z.; Williams, H.E.L.; Fay, M.W.; Clarke, P.A.; Imamura, Y.; Jin, T.; Bradshaw, T.D.; Thomas, N.R.; Grabowska, A.M.

doi:10.1039/c7tb02912h

Stable DHLA–PEG capped PbS quantum dots: from synthesis to near-infrared biomedical imaging

Zamberlan, F.; Turyanska, L.; Patan�, A.; Liu, Z.; Williams, H.E.L.; Fay, M.W.; Clarke, P.A.; Imamura, Y.; Jin, T.; Bradshaw, T.D.; Thomas, N.R.; Grabowska, A.M.

Authors

F. Zamberlan

Dr LYUDMILA TURYANSKA LYUDMILA.TURYANSKA@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

Professor Amalia Patane AMALIA.PATANE@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
PROFESSOR OF PHYSICS

Z. Liu

Dr HUW WILLIAMS HUW.WILLIAMS@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW

Dr Michael Fay MICHAEL.FAY@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW

P.A. Clarke

Y. Imamura

T. Jin

Dr TRACEY BRADSHAW tracey.bradshaw@nottingham.ac.uk
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

Professor NEIL THOMAS neil.thomas@nottingham.ac.uk
PROFESSOR OF MEDICINAL AND BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY

A.M. Grabowska

Abstract

The short shelf-life of water-soluble quantum dots (QDs) due to colloidal instability represents a major drawback to their exploitation. This work examines the colloidal stability of PbS nanoparticles capped with dihydrolipoic acid–polyethylene glycol (DHLA–PEG) ligands terminated with functional groups such as –NH 2 , –COOH, OMe and –N3 and their application for in vivo imaging. We prove a mechanism of colloidal instability and develop a strategy to produce for the first time stable PEG-capped PbS quantum dots with high quantum yield and optical emission in the first and the second near-infrared (NIR) windows of low absorption of biological tissues. The NIR imaging of in vivo biodistribution is demonstrated at wavelengths 4 1000 nm, with benefits of reduced tissue absorption and light scattering. The stability, biocompatibility and potential for further QD functionalization open up realistic prospects for non-invasive bioimaging applications.

Citation

Zamberlan, F., Turyanska, L., Patanè, A., Liu, Z., Williams, H., Fay, M., Clarke, P., Imamura, Y., Jin, T., Bradshaw, T., Thomas, N., & Grabowska, A. (in press). Stable DHLA–PEG capped PbS quantum dots: from synthesis to near-infrared biomedical imaging. Journal of Materials Chemistry B, 6, https://doi.org/10.1039/c7tb02912h

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Dec 15, 2017
Online Publication Date	Jan 12, 2018
Deposit Date	Jan 8, 2018
Publicly Available Date	Jan 12, 2018
Journal	Journal of Materials Chemistry B
Print ISSN	2050-750X
Electronic ISSN	2050-7518
Publisher	Royal Society of Chemistry
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	6
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1039/c7tb02912h
Public URL	https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/904517
Publisher URL	http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2018/tb/c7tb02912h
Contract Date	Jan 8, 2018