(699i) Aggregation-Induced Emission of Hydrophobically-Modified Metal Clusters in Lipid Nanodiscs

Biocompatible lipid-based nanodiscs (also known as â??bicellesâ?) showed superior cellular uptake compared with liposomes of a similar length scale [1]. In this presentation we will demonstrate that bicelles can entrap nanometer-sized monolayer protected gold clusters (Au-MPCs) or hydrophobically-modified quantum dot (ZnSe/ZnS QD) through self-assembly, retaining reasonably uniform sizes (< 50 nm) as the bare ones. Aggregation-induced emission is observed in such nanoparticle-in-nanoparticle complexes (NP²) with nearly two orders of magnitude enhancement in luminescence in both cases of Au-MPC-NP² and QD-NP². The outcome of this research will provide the insight into the design of biosensing nanoparticles in a controllable and scalable manner.

[1] W. Aresh, Y. Liu, J. Sine, D. Thayer, A. Puri, Y. Huang, Y. Wang, M.-P. Nieh "The Morphology of Self-Assembled Lipid-Based Nanoparticles Affects Their Uptake by Cancer Cells" J. Biomed. Nanotech. (in press)