Synthesis of ribonuclease a-conjugated CdS quantum dots and its photocatalytic properties

Quantum dots (QDs) have attracted much attention for their potential applications in electronic and optical areas in the past two decades. However, their toxicity far hindered the progress in those areas. Here, the authors report a green route to synthesise ribonuclease A (RNase A)-conjugated CdS QDs by using assisted microwave process. The final products were characterised by UV-vis absorption, photoluminescence spectra, X-ray powder diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The result of this study revealed that these high stable and water-soluble RNase A-CdS QDs also have a good biocompatibility by tetrazolium-based colorimetric assay (MTT assay) analysis in vitro. Optical property determination analysis further demonstrated that RNase A-CdS QDs could effectively degrade organic dyes under visible light irradiation.