Rapid size-dependent separation of CdTe quantum dots with prion protein

Abstract

Prion proteins (PrP) were successfully used to separate CdTe quantum dots (QDs) of different size based on the size-dependent aggregation. Even though the size disparity was only 0.8–2 nm, red-, yellow- and green-emitting QDs could be separated from one another by addition of different concentrations of PrP. This novel separation method allows controllable, rapid and simple separation of QDs without requiring large amounts of expensive reagents and complicated technology, which can be developed into a versatile method for separating diversiform nanoparticles.