Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Mixed-Surface, Lipid-Tethered Quantum Dots For Targeting Cells And Tissues, Yanjie Zhang, Amanda Haage, Elizabeth M. Whitley, Ian C. Schneider, Aaron R. Clapp

Chemical and Biological Engineering Publications

Quantum dots (QDs), with their variable luminescent properties, are rapidly transcending traditional labeling techniques in biological imaging and hold vast potential for biosensing applications. An obstacle in any biosensor development is targeted specificity. Here we report a facile procedure for creating QDs targeted to the cell membrane with the goal of cell-surface protease biosensing. This procedure generates water-soluble QDs with variable coverage of lipid functional groups. The resulting hydrophobicity is quantitatively controlled by the molar ratio of lipids per QD. Appropriate tuning of the hydrophobicity ensures solubility in common aqueous cell culture media and while providing affinity to the lipid ...