Biological analysis and imaging applications of CdSe/CdSxSe1-x/CdS core-shell magic-sized quantum dot.

Although colloidal magic-sized quantum dots present great promise for biological applications due to their high stability and strong luminescence, nanotoxicological analyses are scarcely reported and biomedical applications have not been demonstrated. This is the first report on biological effects of CdSe/CdSxSe1-x/CdS core-shell magic-sized quantum dot (CS-MSQD) with specific application in breast cancer cell detection. The 2-nm CS-MSQD presents a broad bandwidth emission from 450 to 750nm, low toxicity, non-immunogenicity and biocompatibility. The CS-MSQD was conjugated to a breast cancer-specific Fab antibody, and passively diffused into cells for in vitro detection of a breast cancer cell line, demonstrating to be an unprecedented tool for biomedical applications.