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Biosynthesis of luminescent quantum dots in an earthworm

Nature Nanotechnology volume 8, pages 57–60 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

The synthesis of designer solid-state materials by living organisms is an emerging field in bio-nanotechnology. Key examples include the use of engineered viruses as templates for cobalt oxide (Co3O4) particles1, superparamagnetic cobalt–platinum alloy nanowires2 and gold–cobalt oxide nanowires3 for photovoltaic and battery-related applications. Here, we show that the earthworm's metal detoxification pathway can be exploited to produce luminescent, water-soluble semiconductor cadmium telluride (CdTe) quantum dots that emit in the green region of the visible spectrum when excited in the ultraviolet region. Standard wild-type Lumbricus rubellus earthworms were exposed to soil spiked with CdCl2 and Na2TeO3 salts for 11 days. Luminescent quantum dots were isolated from chloragogenous tissues surrounding the gut of the worm, and were successfully used in live-cell imaging. The addition of polyethylene glycol on the surface of the quantum dots allowed for non-targeted, fluid-phase uptake by macrophage cells.

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Figure 1: Schematics of the earthworm used and optical characterization of the quantum dots.
Figure 2: Microscopy analysis of the CdTe particles isolated from the chloragogenous cells.
Figure 3: Cell imaging using the CdTe quantum dots isolated from the chloragogenous tissues.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank P. Kille, C. Winters and A. J. Morgan for their assistance in antibody generation and immunoperoxidase histochemistry, D. Spurgeon for supplying earthworms, W. Maret for useful discussions, the Nikon Imaging Centre at King's College London for assistance with cell imaging and A. Beavil for use of the Horiba FluoroCube. The authors also acknowledge partial funding from the Wellcome Trust EPSRC Centre of Excellence in Medical Engineering (WT 088641/Z/09/Z) and an Erwin Schrödinger Fellowship. TEM images were taken at Leeds Electron Microscopy and Spectroscopy Centre.

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Author notes

  1. S. R. Stürzenbaum and M. Höckner: These authors contributed equally to this work

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Analytical and Environmental Sciences Division, King's College London, 3rd Floor, Franklin-Wilkins Building, 150 Stamford Street, London, SE1 9NH, UK

    S. R. Stürzenbaum & M. Höckner

  2. Department of Physics, King's College London, London, WC2R 2LS, Strand, UK

    A. Panneerselvam, J. Levitt, J-S. Bouillard, S. Taniguchi, K. Suhling, A. V. Zayats & M. Green

  3. Department of Imaging Chemistry and Biology, Divisions of Imaging Science and Biomedical Engineering, King's College London, 4th floor, Lambert Wing, St Thomas Hospital, London, SE1 7EH, UK

    M. Green

  4. Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, King's College London, 5th Floor, Franklin-Wilkins Building, 150 Stamford Street, London, SE1 9NH, UK

    L-A. Dailey, R. Ahmad Khanbeigi, E. V. Rosca & M. Thanou

  5. Department of Chemistry, King's College London, Hodgkin Building, Guy's campus, London, SE1 1UL, UK

    M. Green

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Contributions

M.G. conceived the concept. M.G. and S.R.S. conceived the experiments. S.R.S., M.G., K.S., L.A.D., M.T. and A.Z. designed the experiments, supervised experiments and wrote the paper. M.H. and S.R.S. carried out experiments with worms and harvested the quantum dots. S.T., A.P., J.L., J.S.B., E.R. and R.A.K. analysed the particles.

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Correspondence to M. Green.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Stürzenbaum, S., Höckner, M., Panneerselvam, A. et al. Biosynthesis of luminescent quantum dots in an earthworm. Nature Nanotech 8, 57–60 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2012.232

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