Quantitative characterization of the lipid encapsulation of quantum dots for biomedical applications

Abstract

The water solubilization of nanoparticles is key for many applications in biomedicine. Despite the importance of surface functionalization, progress has been largely empirical and very few systematic studies have been performed. Here we report on the water solubilization of QDs using lipid encapsulation. We systematically evaluate the monodispersity, zeta potential, stability, and quantum yield (QY) for QDs encapsulated with single and double acyl chain lipids, pegylated double acyl chain lipids, and single alkyl chain surfactant molecules with charged head groups. We show that charged surfactants and pegylated lipids are important to obtain monodisperse suspensions with high yield and excellent long-term stability.

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