Due to the increase in antibiotic resistant bacteria, alternative therapies that use bacteriophage are under investigation. Bacteriophage are viruses that infect bacteria and are ubiquitous in nature. To understand how bacteriophage can be used in phage therapy, we are developing several bioimaging nanoparticles that can be used to track them during cell studies. We selected quantum dots which have been previously investigated for bioimaging studies used in cancer research. Quantum dots of CdTe@ZnS were synthesized in trioctylphosphine and octadecene using a solution precipitation route. After, we performed surface exchange of the native ligands with 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid that allowed the particles to be dispersed in a buffer solution. The particles obtained were characterized using Powder X-ray Diffraction (PXRD), UV-vis Spectroscopy (UV-vis), and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Next particles were tested for their attachment to MS2 phage using EDC/NHS coupling strategies and we examined their viability using plaque assays. Full details on the synthesis and characterization will be presented.

Synthesis of quantum dot bioimaging agents to study bacteriophage

253rd National Meeting (2017)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.