Binding of semiconductor quantum dots to cellular integrins

There is currently a major international effort aimed at integrating semiconductor nanostructures with biological structures. This paper reports the functionalization of cadmium sulfide quantum dots with peptides that facilitate the selective binding of these quantum-dot-peptide complexes to integrins in the membranes of cancer cells of the MDA-MB-435 cell line. In addition, this paper focuses on the roles that biological environments play in altering and determining the optical and vibrational properties of these nanostructures.