Facile synthesis, growth mechanism, and optical properties of CdSe nanoparticles in self-assembled micellar media and their efficient conjugation with proteins

This article demonstrates the influence of various surfactants of different polarities—anionic, sodium dodecyl sulfate, cationic, hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide and non-ionic, and polyoxyethylene iso-octyl phenyl ether (TX-100)—on the formation of CdSe nanoparticles in aqueous solutions. The surfactant-stabilizing effect has been monitored using transmission electron microscopy. Spectral properties of CdSe nanoparticles have been investigated; the structure of the long-wave edge of the fundamental absorption band of CdSe nanoparticles has been analyzed. It has been shown that the variation of the synthesizing conditions (stabilizer’s nature and concentration, CdSe concentration, etc.) allows the tailoring of the CdSe nanoparticle size in the range of 8–17 nm. Lifshitz–Slyrzov–Wagner kinetic analysis has also been performed using the size variation according to ripening temperature and time period. The differences in the stabilization ability of tested substances are discussed with respect to their structure and possible mechanism of the surface interaction with the nanoparticles. The flexible surface chemistry of the CdSe-micelles causes them to be water soluble and allows their further conjugation with protein molecules through electrostatic attraction. The interaction between functionalized CdSe nanoparticles with protein molecules have been investigated using fluorescence spectroscopy.