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Comparison of molecular interactions of Ag 2 Te and CdTe quantum dots with human serum albumin by spectroscopic approaches
Author(s) -
Xiao Qi,
Liang Yu,
Liu Yi,
Lu Shuangyan,
Huang Shan
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
luminescence
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.428
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1522-7243
pISSN - 1522-7235
DOI - 10.1002/bio.3391
Subject(s) - quantum dot , human serum albumin , cadmium telluride photovoltaics , quenching (fluorescence) , fluorescence , chemistry , nanotechnology , molecular binding , materials science , molecule , physics , biochemistry , quantum mechanics , organic chemistry
Ag 2 Te quantum dots (QDs) have attracted great attention in biological applications due to their superior photoluminescence qualities and good biocompatibility, but their potential biotoxicity at a molecular biology level has been rarely discussed. In order to better understand the basic behavior of Ag 2 Te QDs in biological systems and compare their biotoxicity to cadmium‐containing QDs, a series of spectroscopic measurements was applied to reveal the molecular interactions of Ag 2 Te QDs and CdTe QDs with human serum albumin (HSA). Ag 2 Te QDs and CdTe QDs statically quenched the intrinsic fluorescence of HSA by electrostatic interactions, but Ag 2 Te QDs exhibited weaker quenching ability and weaker binding ability compared with CdTe QDs. Electrostatic interactions were the main binding forces and Sudlow's site I was the primary binding site during these binding interactions. Furthermore, micro‐environmental and conformational variations of HSA were induced by their binding interactions with two QDs. Ag 2 Te QDs caused less secondary structural and conformational change in HSA, illustrating the lower potential biotoxicity risk of Ag 2 Te QDs. Our results systematically indicated the molecular binding mechanism of Ag 2 Te QDs with HSA, which provided important information for possible toxicity risk of these cadmium‐free QDs to human health.