Liu Yu-San, Sun Yinghua, Vernier P Thomas, Liang Chi-Hui, Chong Suet Ying Christin, Gundersen Martin A
Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089.
J Phys Chem C Nanomater Interfaces. 2007;111(7):2872-2878. doi: 10.1021/jp0654718.
The photoluminescence of mercaptoacetic acid (MAA)-capped CdSe/ZnSe/ZnS semiconductor nanocrystal quantum dots (QDs) in SKOV-3 human ovarian cancer cells is pH-dependent, suggesting applications in which QDs serve as intracellular pH sensors. In both fixed and living cells the fluorescence intensity of intracellular MAA-capped QDs (MAA QDs) increases monotonically with increasing pH. The electrophoretic mobility of MAA QDs also increases with pH, indicating an association between surface charging and fluorescence emission. MAA dissociates from the ZnS outer shell at low pH, resulting in aggregation and loss of solubility, and this may also contribute to the MAA QD fluorescence changes observed in the intracellular environment.
巯基乙酸(MAA)包覆的CdSe/ZnSe/ZnS半导体纳米晶量子点(QDs)在SKOV-3人卵巢癌细胞中的光致发光具有pH依赖性,这表明量子点可作为细胞内pH传感器。在固定细胞和活细胞中,细胞内MAA包覆量子点(MAA QDs)的荧光强度均随pH升高而单调增加。MAA QDs的电泳迁移率也随pH升高而增加,表明表面电荷与荧光发射之间存在关联。在低pH下,MAA从ZnS外壳解离,导致聚集和溶解性丧失,这也可能是细胞内环境中观察到的MAA QD荧光变化的原因。