Colloidal semiconductor nanoparticles prepared by hot injection into the high-boiling point organic solvents, e.g., tri-n-octylphosphine oxide (TOPO), are intrinsically hydrophobic. Their utilization for biomedical applications requires surface modification and functionalization that render the nanoparticles biocompatible. Such functionalization is usually achieved either by  (i) amphiphilic copolymer encapsulation while keeping the original surface ligand intact; (ii) exchange of the original ligands with new multifunctional ligands. We present a facile surface chemistry that replaces covalently bound surface ligands with cysteine-rich alpha-helical transmembrane polypeptides. This unique chemistry and peptide functionalization is aimed at inserting ~10-12 nm short ZnSe/CdS type II nanorods into the plasma membrane in a vertical orientation by self-assembly. Once stably inserted into the membrane, these nanorods could serve as single particle membrane potential probes via the quantum confined stark effect (QCSE)

Semiconductor nanorods functionalization for plasma membrane insertion

251st National Meeting (2016)

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