A Compact Functional Quantum Dot-DNA Conjugate: Preparation, Hybridization and Specific Label-free DNA Detection

In this letter, we report the preparation of a compact, functional quantum dot (QD)-DNA conjugate, where the capturing target DNA is directly and covalently coupled to the QD surface. This enables the control of the separation distance between the QD donor and dye acceptor to within the range of the Förster radius. Moreover, a tri(ethylene glycol) linker is introduced to the QD surface coating to effectively eliminate the strong, non-specific adsorption of DNA on the QD surface. As a result, this QD-DNA conjugate hybridizes specifically to its complementary DNA with a hybridization rate constant comparable to that of free DNAs in solution. We show this system is capable of specific detection of nanomolar unlabeled complimentary DNA at low DNA probe:QD copy numbers via a ‘signal-on’ fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) response.