Multifunctional Lipid/Quantum-Dots Hybrid Nanocontainers for Controlled Targeting of Live Cells

In this communication, we report on an interesting observation of wide-ranging potential for cellular imaging and manipulation: Hydrophobic QDs can be easily incorporated into the bilayer membrane of lipid vesicles. Such lipid/QD nanocontainer hybrid vesicles are capable either to fuse with live cells, thereby stain the cell’s plasma membrane selectively with fluorescent QDs and transfer the vesicle’s cargo into the cell or to transfer into the cytoplasm of live cells. Our results imply that cell and lipid membranes can integrate any kind of hydrophobic nanoparticle whose size matches the membrane thickness, opening novel possibilities to manipulate them as individuals or in ensemble with wide-ranging applications for nanobiotechnology.