N-acetylglucosamine biofunctionalized CdSeTe quantum dots as fluorescence probe for specific protein recognition.

Hsp70 proteins are implicated in resistance to chemotherapy in cancers, the detection of which is important for cancer treatment and prognosis. In this work, we report the study on the detection of specific intracellular target protein in fixed cells using GlcNAc-conjugated CdSeTe QDs. The QDs were coupled with Con A via a carbodiimide reaction and then were further assembled with GlcNAc by lectin-carbohydrate interaction between Con A and GlcNAc. The obtained QDs-Con A-GlcNAc conjugates have an emission wavelength at 650 nm that is close to the near-infrared (NIR) regions and a specific recognition for Hsp70. These results show that the QDs-Con A-GlcNAc probe can be a promising tool for direct localization of the Hsp70 protein.