Photoligation of an amphiphilic polymer with mixed coordination provides compact and reactive quantum dots
US9790329B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 30, 2015 |
| Grant date | Oct 17, 2017 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 30, 2036 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC C)Chemistry; Metallurgy
- CPC primaryC09D135/00
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The disclosure is directed to multi-coordinating polymers as ligands that combine two distinct metal-chelating groups, lipoic acid and imidazole, for the surface functionalization of QDs. These ligands combine the benefits of thiol and imidazole coordination to reduce issues of thiol oxidation and weak binding affinity of imidazole. The ligand design relies on the introduction of controllable numbers of lipoic acid and histamine anchors, along with hydrophilic moieties and reactive functionalities, onto a poly(isobutylene-alt-maleic anhydride) chain via a one-step nucleophilic addition reaction. We further demonstrate that this design is fully compatible with a novel and mild photoligation strategy to promote the in-situ ligand exchange and phase transfer of hydrophobic QDs to aqueous media under borohydride-free conditions. Ligation with these polymers provides highly fluorescent QDs that exhibit great long-term colloidal stability over a wide range of conditions.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.