Artículo de revista
Biomimetic, Mild Chemical Synthesis of CdTe-GSH Quantum Dots with Improved Biocompatibility
Fecha
2012Registro en:
PLoS ONE January 2012 | Volume 7 | Issue 1 | e30741
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0030741
Autor
Pérez Donoso, José
Monrás, Juan P.
Bravo, Denisse
Aguirre, Adam
Quest, Andrew F. G.
Osorio Román, Igor
Aroca, Ricardo F.
Vásquez, Claudio C.
Chasteen, Thomas G.
Institución
Resumen
Multiple applications of nanotechnology, especially those involving highly fluorescent nanoparticles (NPs) or quantum dots
(QDs) have stimulated the research to develop simple, rapid and environmentally friendly protocols for synthesizing NPs
exhibiting novel properties and increased biocompatibility. In this study, a simple protocol for the chemical synthesis of
glutathione (GSH)-capped CdTe QDs (CdTe-GSH) resembling conditions found in biological systems is described. Using only
CdCl2, K2TeO3 and GSH, highly fluorescent QDs were obtained under pH, temperature, buffer and oxygen conditions that
allow microorganisms growth. These CdTe-GSH NPs displayed similar size, chemical composition, absorbance and
fluorescence spectra and quantum yields as QDs synthesized using more complicated and expensive methods. CdTe QDs
were not freely incorporated into eukaryotic cells thus favoring their biocompatibility and potential applications in
biomedicine. In addition, NPs entry was facilitated by lipofectamine, resulting in intracellular fluorescence and a slight
increase in cell death by necrosis. Toxicity of the as prepared CdTe QDs was lower than that observed with QDs produced by
other chemical methods, probably as consequence of decreased levels of Cd+2 and higher amounts of GSH. We present
here the simplest, fast and economical method for CdTe QDs synthesis described to date. Also, this biomimetic protocol
favors NPs biocompatibility and helps to establish the basis for the development of new, ‘‘greener’’ methods to synthesize
cadmium-containing QDs.