Monitoring the size and the stability of zinc oxide quantum dots in biological media

Jean-Jacques Gaumet (1) , Gabriel Gaiffe (1) , Clément Dezanet (2) , Stéphane Dalmasso (1) , Pierre Magri (1) , Lavinia Balan (3) , Raphaël Schneider (2)

1 LCP-A2MC - Laboratoire de Chimie et Physique - Approche Multi-échelle des Milieux Complexes
2 LRGP - Laboratoire Réactions et Génie des Procédés
3 IS2M - Institut de Science des Matériaux de Mulhouse

We present herein a joint physical/physico-chemical study and, more specifically, the first application of Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization coupled with Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) to analyze small-sized ZnO quantum dots (QDs) (2.8-3.1 nm diameter range) synthesized by sol-gel chemistry and stabilized through an aminosilane coating. A careful investigation of the stability of ZnO QDs was initiated once these dots were dispersed in different media (water, biological buffer) for a period up to 3 weeks. Positive ion mode mass spectra MALDI-TOF-MS combined with optical spectrometry was used to monitor the stability of ZnO QDs when aging. Such a unique combination of MALDI-TOF-MS and physico-chemical techniques is likely to bring new insights into the structure analysis, the stability and consequently the potential toxicity of QDs.

Mots clés: Core/shell

Domaines: Chimie

Jean-Jacques Gaumet, Gabriel Gaiffe, Clément Dezanet, Stéphane Dalmasso, Pierre Magri, et al.. Monitoring the size and the stability of zinc oxide quantum dots in biological media: a soft ionization mass spectrometry technique (MALDI-TOF-MS). 2015 MRS Spring Meeting, Apr 2015, San Francisco, United States. pp.7-12, ⟨10.1557/OPL.2015.620⟩. ⟨hal-01306316⟩