Glutathione capped core/shell CdSeS/ZnS quantum dots as a medical imaging tool for cancer cells

Nanomaterials have secured an enduring position as a promising contender for various biological applications. Quantum dot (QD) is one such example of nano sized semiconductor material having unique optical characteristics that makes it an ideal candidate to be used as imaging tool for today's medical industry. In the present study, the L-Glutathione (L-GSH) capped L-GSH-CdSeS/ZnS core/shell QDs were applied to visualize MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. Time and dose dependent studies were done, to study the cell penetration and visualization of QDs within the cancer cells. MTT assay was done to derive the percent cell viability of cancer cells at different QDs dose concentrations. Cell cytotoxicity of the capped CdSeS/ZnS QDs were also studied on noncancerous healthy cells. Human cancerous cells were treated with the selected doses of QDs for different time durations followed by counter staining of the cells with fluorescent DAPI nuclear stain to observe the reflected QD mediated effects. The small sized QDs were localized predominantly in the cytoplasm of MCF-7 cells and displayed no significant cytotoxicity on healthy cells. Our findings suggest that our new synthesized L-GSH-CdSeS/ZnS core/shell QDs could be highly biocompatible and can have a high probability of applications in biolabeling and imaging for cancer diagnostics.