Preparation of High-Performance Water-Soluble Quantum Dots for Biorecognition through Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer

Abstract

An improved method for the synthesis of high-performance and water-soluble quantum dots (QDs) involving the encapsulation of mercaptosuccinic acid coated QDs (MSA-QDs) with poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) followed by their direct photoactivation with fluorescent radiation near 295 K to yield PDDA-coated QDs (PDDA-QDs) has been demonstrated. The quantum yield (QY) of the PDDA-QDs was significantly improved from 0.6 (QY of MSA-QDs) to 48?%. By using this synthetic strategy, highly photoluminescent PDDA-QDs of varied size were readily prepared. The surface properties of PDDA-QDs and MSA-QDs were extensively characterized. The highly luminescent and positively charged PDDA-QDs serve as a useful and convenient tool for protein adsorption. With a ?5-3-ketosteroid isomerase adsorbed PDDA-QD complex, the biorecognition of steroids was demonstrated through the application of fluorescent resonance energy transfer.