CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) can be joined in the reductive pathway involving the electron transfer to an acceptor or in the oxidative pathway involving the hole transfer to a donor. They were exploited in the oxidation reactions of 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) and glutamate (GLU) for the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as hydroxyl radical (HO^●) and superoxide anion (O₂ ^{● ─}). Fast and highly efficient oxidation reactions of ALA to produce HO^● and of GLU to produce O2 ^●─ were observed in the cooperation of mercaptopropionic acid (MPA)-capped CdSe/ZnS QDs under LED irradiation. Fluorescence spectroscopy and electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy were used to evaluate the generation of different forms of ROS. Confocal fluorescent microscopic images of the size and morphology of HeLa cells confirmed the ROS generation from ALA or GLU in cooperation with CdSe/ZnS QDs under LED irradiation.

Date Published: 27 August 2014
PDF: 18 pages
Proc. SPIE 9166, Biosensing and Nanomedicine VII, 916612 (27 August 2014); doi: 10.1117/12.2060342

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9166:
Biosensing and Nanomedicine VII
Hooman Mohseni; Massoud H. Agahi; Manijeh Razeghi, Editor(s)