Issue 6, 2024

Chiroptically active quantum nanonails

Abstract

In recent years, extensive research efforts have been dedicated to the investigation of CdSe/CdS-based quantum-confined nanostructures, driven by their distinctive properties. The morphologies of these nanostructures have been shown to directly affect their properties, an area which has proven to be an important field of study. Herein, we report a new morphology of CdSe/CdS core–shell heterostructures in the form of a ‘nanonail’ – a modified nanorod-like morphology, in which a distinctive triangular head can be observed at one end of the structure. In-depth studies of this morphology reveal a material with tuneable rod length and width, as well as exceptional photoluminescent properties. Following this, we have demonstrated the ability to induce chiroptical activity via ligand exchange, revealing the important role of the specific morphology, shell thickness and chiral ligand concentration in the effect of ligand induced chirality. In addition, the cellular uptake and cytotoxicity of obtained chiral nanostructures were evaluated on human lung-derived A549 cancer cells, revealing a significant enantioselectivity in biological activity. Finally, analysis on monolayers of the material demonstrate the complete absence of FRET processes. Overall, this CdSe/CdS heterostructure is another tuneable morphology of a very important nanomaterial, one which shows great advantages and a range of potential applications.

Graphical abstract: Chiroptically active quantum nanonails

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
10 jan 2024
Accepted
02 apr 2024
First published
02 apr 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Nanoscale Horiz., 2024,9, 1013-1022

Chiroptically active quantum nanonails

F. Purcell-Milton, V. A. Kuznetsova, X. Bai, Á. Coogan, M. Martínez-Carmona, J. A. Garcia, A. L. Bradley and Y. K. Gun’ko, Nanoscale Horiz., 2024, 9, 1013 DOI: 10.1039/D4NH00015C

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications, without requesting further permission from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given and it is not used for commercial purposes.

To request permission to reproduce material from this article in a commercial publication, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party commercial publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements