Highly luminescent CuInS 2-ZnS nanocrystals: Achieving phase transfer and nuclear homing property simultaneously through simple TTAB modification

Meina Wang, Xiangyou Liu, Chuanbao Cao*, Long Wang

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

21 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Monodisperse CuInS 2-ZnS nanocrystals were synthesized in organic solvents and effectively transferred to aqueous phase with the aid of trimethyl(tetradecyl)ammonium bromide (TTAB). TTAB-stabilized CuInS 2-ZnS (CIS-ZnS-TTAB) nanocomposites exhibited good aqueous stability and preserved the high luminescence of the nanocrystals after phase transfer. More intriguingly, without any further modification, CIS-ZnS-TTAB showed a striking nuclear homing property, preferentially accumulating in the nuclei of living cells. This novel probe CIS-ZnS-TTAB may have applications in nuclear selective imaging and as a multifunctional drug carrier for nuclear targeted drug delivery. Our work provides a simple but effective way for hydrophobic nanomaterials to achieve both phase transfer and nuclear selectivity simultaneously.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)21979-21986
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Materials Chemistry
Volume22
Issue number41
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 7 Nov 2012

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