Ultrasmall Black Phosphorus Quantum Dots: Synthesis and Use as Photothermal Agents

Zhengbo Sun; Hanhan Xie; Siying Tang; Xue-Feng Yu; Zhinan Guo; Jundong Shao; Han Zhang; Hao Huang; Huaiyu Wang; Paul K Chu

doi:10.1002/anie.201506154

Ultrasmall Black Phosphorus Quantum Dots: Synthesis and Use as Photothermal Agents

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2015 Sep 21;54(39):11526-30. doi: 10.1002/anie.201506154. Epub 2015 Aug 21.

Authors

Zhengbo Sun^{1

2}, Hanhan Xie¹, Siying Tang¹, Xue-Feng Yu³, Zhinan Guo², Jundong Shao², Han Zhang⁴, Hao Huang^{1

5}, Huaiyu Wang¹, Paul K Chu⁶

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Biomedicine and Biotechnology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055 (P. R. China).
² SZU-NUS Collaborative Innovation Center for Optoelectronic Science and Technology and Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Devices and Systems of Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, College of Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060 (P. R. China).
³ Institute of Biomedicine and Biotechnology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055 (P. R. China). xf.yu@siat.ac.cn.
⁴ SZU-NUS Collaborative Innovation Center for Optoelectronic Science and Technology and Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Devices and Systems of Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, College of Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060 (P. R. China). hzhang@szu.edu.cn.
⁵ Department of Physics and Materials Science, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong (P. R. China).
⁶ Department of Physics and Materials Science, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong (P. R. China). paul.chu@cityu.edu.hk.

PMID: 26296530
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201506154

Abstract

Black phosphorus quantum dots (BPQDs) were synthesized using a liquid exfoliation method that combined probe sonication and bath sonication. With a lateral size of approximately 2.6 nm and a thickness of about 1.5 nm, the ultrasmall BPQDs exhibited an excellent NIR photothermal performance with a large extinction coefficient of 14.8 L g(-1) cm(-1) at 808 nm, a photothermal conversion efficiency of 28.4%, as well as good photostability. After PEG conjugation, the BPQDs showed enhanced stability in physiological medium, and there was no observable toxicity to different types of cells. NIR photoexcitation of the BPQDs in the presence of C6 and MCF7 cancer cells led to significant cell death, suggesting that the nanoparticles have large potential as photothermal agents.

Keywords: black phosphorus; nanocrystals; photothermal agents; photothermal therapy; quantum dots.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Cell Line, Tumor
Humans
Microscopy, Atomic Force
Microscopy, Electron, Transmission
Phosphorus / chemistry*
Quantum Dots*
Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared

Substances

Phosphorus