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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2011
We report on a short-wavelength, “blue” spectral shift of the photoluminescence (PL) spectrum in CdSeTe/ZnS core/shell quantum dots (QDs) caused by bioconjugation with several monoclonal cancer related antibodies (ABs). Scanning PL spectroscopy was performed on samples dried on solid substrates at various temperatures. The influence of the AB chemical origin on the PL spectral shift was observed. The conjugation QD-AB reaction was confirmed using the agarose gel electrophoresis technique. The spectral shift is strongly increased and the process facilitated when the samples are dried above room temperature. The PL spectroscopic mapping revealed a profile of the PL spectral shift across the dried QD-AB spot. Transmission Electron Microscopy analyses of the samples were performed to reveal the shape and size of individual QDs. A mechanism of the “blue” shift is attributed to changes in the QD electronic energy levels caused by local stress field applied to the bio-conjugated QD.