Bioconjugation of quantum-dots with chitosan and N,N,N-trimethyl chitosan

Novel carbohydrate-based hybrids combining chitosan and chemically modified chitosan with CdS inorganic nanoparticles were designed and prepared via aqueous route at room temperature. N,N,N-trimethylchitosan (TM-chitosan) was synthesized aiming at substantially improving the water solubility of chitosan for producing stable colloidal systems. UV–vis spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were used to characterize the synthesis and the relative stability of biopolymer-capped CdS nanocrystals. The results have clearly indicated that chitosan and chitosan-derivative (TM-chitosan) were remarkably effective on nucleating and stabilizing CdS nanoparticles in aqueous suspensions. In addition, the CdS nanocrystals were produced in the so-called “quantum-size confinement regime”, with the calculated average size below 3.5 nm and fluorescent activity in the visible range of the spectra. Therefore, a new single-step process was developed for the bioconjugation of quantum dots with water soluble chemically functionalized carbohydrates at room temperature for potential biomedical applications.