Emission transformation in CdSe/ZnS quantum dots conjugated to biomolecules

Abstract

The variation of photoluminescence (PL) spectra in CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) at the conjugation to antibodies (ABs) has been investigated and discussed in this paper. Two types of CdSe/ZnS QDs with different CdSe core sizes (5.4 and 6.4nm) and emissions (605 and 655nm) were studied before and after the conjugation to anti-Interleukin-10 (IL-10) and anti-Pseudo rabies virus (PRV) ABs. The PL high energy shift and asymmetric shape of PL bands have been detected in bioconjugated QDs. Note that the bioconjugation impact on spectral characteristics of CdSe/ZnS QD emission has been not studied yet in details. The surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effect is revealed in bioconjugated CdSe/ZnS QDs. The SERS effect testifies that the excitation light used at the Raman study generates the electric dipoles in AB molecules. At the same time, the permanent position of LO-phonon Raman lines in Raman spectra of nonconjugated and bioconjugated QDs confirms that QD materials do not change at the bioconjugation. It is shown as well that the compressive strains do not play any role in the PL high energy shift in bioconjugated QDs. PL spectra of pure anti IL-10 ABs, anti PRV ABs, a phosphate buffer saline (PBS) and PL spectrum dependences versus excitation light intensities have been investigated as well. Finally, the PL spectrum transformation in bioconjugated QDs is attributed to varying the quantum confinement effect in CdSe/ZnS QDs and the energy band profiles in QD cores. Both these effects are stimulated by the electromagnetic field of excited AB dipoles. The obtained results can be useful for sensitivity improving the QD bio-sensors.

Keywords: Antibody; Bioconjugation; CdSe/ZnS quantum dots; Photoluminescence; Raman scattering; SERS effect.