Photoluminescence (PL) intermittency (blinking), or random switching between states of high- (ON) and low (OFF) emissivities, is a universal property of molecular emitters exhibited by dyes1, polymers2, biological molecules3 and artificial nanostructures such as nanocrystal quantum dots, carbon nanotubes, and nanowires4,5,6. For the past fifteen years, colloidal nanocrystals have been used as a model system for studies of this phenomenon.5,6 The occurrence of OFF periods in nanocrystal emission has been commonly attributed to the presence of an additional charge7, which leads to PL quenching by nonradiative Auger recombination.8 However, the “charging” model was recently challenged in several reports.9,10 Here, to clarify the role of charging in PL intermittency, we perform time-resolved PL studies of individual nanocrystals while controlling electrochemically the degree of their charging. We find that two distinct mechanisms can lead to PL intermittency. We identify conventional blinking (A-type) due to charging/discharging of the nanocrystal core when lower PL intensities correlate with shorter PL lifetimes. Importantly, we observe a different blinking (B-type), when large changes in the PL intensity are not accompanied by significant changes in PL dynamics. We attribute this blinking behavior to charge fluctuations in the electron-accepting surface sites. When unoccupied, these sites intercept hot electrons before they relax into emitting core states. Both blinking mechanisms can be controlled electrochemically and under appropriate potential blinking can be completely suppressed.

Nanocrystal quantum dots are attractive materials for applications as nanoscale light sources. One impediment to these applications is fluctuations of single-dot emission intensity, known as blinking. Recent progress in colloidal synthesis has produced nonblinking nanocrystals; however, the physics underlying blinking suppression remains unclear. Here we find that ultra-thick-shell CdSe/CdS nanocrystals can exhibit pronounced fluctuations in the emission lifetimes (lifetime blinking), despite stable nonblinking emission intensity. We demonstrate that lifetime variations are due to switching between the neutral and negatively charged state of the nanocrystal. Negative charging results in faster radiative decay but does not appreciably change the overall emission intensity because of suppressed nonradiative Auger recombination for negative trions. The Auger process involving excitation of a hole (positive trion pathway) remains efficient and is responsible for charging with excess electrons, which occurs via Auger-assisted ionization of biexcitons accompanied by ejection of holes.

The growing potential of quantum dots (QDs) in applications as diverse as biomedicine and energy has provoked much dialogue about their conceivable impact on human health and the environment at large. Consequently, there has been an urgent need to understand their interaction with biological systems. Parameters such as size, composition, surface charge, and functionalization can be modified in ways to either enhance biocompatibility or reduce their deleterious effects. In the current study, we simultaneously compared the impact of size, charge, and functionalization alone or in combination on biological responses using primary normal human bronchial epithelial cells. Using a suite of cellular end points and gene expression analysis, we determined the biological impact of each of these properties. Our results suggest that positively charged QDs are significantly more cytotoxic compared to negative QDs. Furthermore, while QDs functionalized with long ligands were found to be more cytotoxic than those functionalized with short ligands, negative QDs functionalized with long ligands also demonstrated size-dependent cytotoxicity. We conclude that QD-elicited cytotoxicity is not a function of a single property but a combination of factors. The mechanism of toxicity was found to be independent of reactive oxygen species formation, as cellular viability could not be rescued in the presence of the antioxidant n-acetyl cysteine. Further exploring these responses at the molecular level, we found that the relatively benign negative QDs increased gene expression of proinflammatory cytokines and those associated with DNA damage, while the highly toxic positive QDs induced changes in genes associated with mitochondrial function. In an attempt to tentatively "rank" the contribution of each property in the observed QD-induced responses, we concluded that QD charge and ligand length, and to a lesser extent, size, are key factors that should be considered when engineering nanomaterials with minimal bioimpact (charge> functionalization > size).