Water Dispersible Semiconductor Nanorod Assemblies Via a Facile Phase Transfer and Their Application as Fluorescent Biomarkers

Abstract

We demonstrate the formation of water dispersed nanorod assemblies by phase transfer of semiconductor (CdS, CdSe, CdTe) nanorods from the organic to the aqueous using pluronic triblock copolymers. On phase transfer, the randomly dispersed nanorods in the organic medium close pack in the form of discs encapsulated in the hydrophobic core of water dispersible micelles. The assemblies showed excellent cellular uptake exhibiting membrane and cell specific fluorescence at low light intensity under confocal microscopy. Notes and references

Anisotropic nanomaterials: structure, growth, assembly, and functions

“…Energy transport through the waveguide results in dye emission from the fluorescent particle that proves the energy transfer. Energy attenuation lengths of several hundred nanometers propose the use of these plasmon waveguides as functional end-structures in integrated optical devices (370). …”

Temperature and Size Dependence of the Optical Properties of Tetrapod-Shaped Colloidal Nanocrystals Exhibiting Type-II Transitions

“…Semiconductor nanocrystals with rod shapes, for example, exhibit optical properties that are markedly different from those of spheres − and that arise from the different type of quantum confinement occurring in rods as compared to spherical nanocrystals . Among the peculiar properties of nanorods, we mention one-dimensional exciton dynamics, high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) at room temperature, linearly polarized emission, and large Stokes shift. ,, Recently, the possibility to accomplish wave function engineering and exciton storage in nanorods was demonstrated, , and new methods have been developed to assemble semiconductor nanorods with narrow distributions of lengths and diameters over large areas (up to several square millimeters). − …”