Bioinspired inimitable cadmium telluride quantum dots for bioimaging purposes.

Vinay Pawar, Ameeta Ravi Kumar, Smita Zinjarde, Suresh Gosavi

Institute of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology, University of Pune, Pune 411007, India.

Journal of nanoscience and nanotechnology 2013 Jun

filter terms:

Synthesis of quantum nanoparticles of specific size, shape and composition are an aspect important in nanotechnology research. Although these nanostructures are routinely synthesized by chemical routes, the use of microorganisms has emerged as a promising option. The synthesis of cadmium telluride (CdTe) quantum dots by two hitherto unreported marine bacteria (Bacillus pumilus and Serratia marcescens) is reported here. Ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy indicated the synthesis of CdTe nanoparticles and X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns implicated their crystalline face-centered cubic nature. The size of the synthesized CdTe nanostructures estimated by XRD and dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis was found to be approximately 10 nm. Photoluminescence (PL) studies were used to confirm the fluorescence properties of these semi-conducting nanoparticles. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis showed the presence of well-defined nanostructures and energy dispersive spectra (EDS) confirmed the microbial synthesis of these nanoparticles. These bio-inspired CdTe nanostructures could be effectively used in imaging of yeast and animal cells. This work thus describes a cost-effective green method for synthesizing highly fluorescent biocompatible CdTe nanoparticles suitable for bio-labeling purposes.

Citation

Vinay Pawar, Ameeta Ravi Kumar, Smita Zinjarde, Suresh Gosavi. Bioinspired inimitable cadmium telluride quantum dots for bioimaging purposes. Journal of nanoscience and nanotechnology. 2013 Jun;13(6):3826-31