Electronic effects in emission of core/shell CdSe/ZnS quantum dots conjugated to anti-Interleukin 10 antibodies

The paper presents a comparative study of the photoluminescence (PL) and Raman scattering spectra of the core–shell CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) in nonconjugated states and after the conjugation to anti-Interleukin 10 antibodies (anti-IL10). All optical measurements are performed on the dried droplets of the original solution of nonconjugated and bioconjugated QDs located on the Si substrate. CdSe/ZnS QDs with emission at 605 and 655 nm have been used. PL spectra of nonconjugated QDs are characterized by one Gaussian shape PL band related to the exciton emission in the CdSe core. PL spectra of bioconjugated QDs have changed essentially: the core PL band shifts into the high energy spectral range ("blue" sift) and becomes asymmetric. Additionally two new PL bands appear. A set of physical reasons has been proposed for the "blue" shift explanation for the core PL band in bioconjugated QDs. Then Raman scattering spectra have been studied with the aim to analyze the impact of elastic strains or the oxidation process at the QD bioconjugation. The variation of PL spectra versus excitation light intensities has been studied to analyze the exciton emission via excited states in QDs. Finally the PL spectrum transformation for the core emission in bioconjugated QDs has been attributed to the electronic quantum confined effects stimulated by the electric charges of bioconjugated antibodies. -- Highlights: • The conjugation of CdSe/ZnS QDs to anti-Interleukin 10 antibodies has been studied. • PL shift to high energy is detected in bioconjugated CdSe/ZnS QDs. • The PL energy shift in bioconjugated QDs is stimulated by antibody electric charges. • The reasons of PL energy shift in bioconjugated QDs have been discussed