Albumin-conjugated Cadmium Sulfide Nanoparticles and their Interaction with KB Cells

Cytotoxicity is a severe problem of cadmium sulfide nanoparticles (CSNPs) for use in biological systems. In the present study, mercaptoacetic acid-coated CSNPs were conjugated with bovine serum albumin (BSA) to improve biocompatibility. The surface properties of the CSNPs and albumin-conjugated CSNPs (ACSNPs) were characterized by XRD, UV, FTIR, EA, TEM and DLS. Human breast cancer cells (KB cells) were then cultured in the presence of the nanoparticles to evaluate the cytotoxicity of CSNPs and ACSNPs. Finally, the fluorescence intensity of the nanoparticles’ aqueous solution was examined using a fluorescence spectrometer. The results showed that the cell compatibility and fluorescence intensity of ACSNPs were higher than those of CSNPs. The strongly luminescent features of the biocompatible ACSNPs are promising for use in biological fields such as cellular labeling, intracellular tracking and molecular imaging.