JSON
Dubavik A, Sezgin E, Lesnyak V, Gaponik N, Schwille P, Eychmüller A
ACS Nano 6 (3) 2150-2156 [2012-03-27; online 2012-02-13]
In this work we demonstrate progress in the colloidal synthesis of amphiphilic CdTe nanocrystals stabilized by thiolated PEG oligomers with the aim of facilitating cellular uptake of the particles. High-boiling, good coordinating solvents such as dimethylacetamide and dimethylformamide accelerate the growth of the nanoparticles yielding stable colloids of which photoluminescence maxima can be tuned to cover the region of 540-640 nm with quantum yields of up to 30%. The CdTe nanocrystals capped by thiolated methoxypolyethylene glycol are shown to penetrate through the lipid bilayer of giant unilamellar vesicles and giant plasma membrane vesicles which constitute basic endocytosis-free model membrane systems. Moreover, the penetration of amphiphilic particles through live cell plasma membranes and their ability to escape the endocytic pathway have been demonstrated.
PubMed 22303822
DOI 10.1021/nn204930y
Crossref 10.1021/nn204930y