Controlling Charge Transfer from Quantum Dots to Polyelectrolyte Layers Extends Prospective Applications of Magneto-Optical Microcapsules

The layer-by-layer (LbL) deposition approach allows combined incorporation of fluorescent, magnetic, and plasmonic nanoparticles into the shell of polyelectrolyte microcapsules to obtain stimulus-responsive systems whose imaging and drug release functions can be triggered by external stimuli. The combined use of fluorescent quantum dots (QDs) and magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) yields magnetic-field-driven imaging tools that can be tracked and imaged even deep in tissue when the appropriate type of QDs and wavelength of their excitation are used. QDs are excellent photonic labels for microcapsule encoding due to their close-to-unity photoluminescence (PL) quantum yields, narrow PL emission bands, and tremendous one- and two-photon extinction coefficients. However, the presence of MNPs and electrically charged polyelectrolyte molecules used for the LbL fabrication of magneto-optical microcapsules provokes alterations of the QD optical properties because of the photoinduced charge and energy transfer resulting in QD photodarkening or photobrightening. These lead to variation of the microcapsule PL signal under illumination, which hampers their tracking and quantitative analysis in cells and tissues. Here, we have studied the effects of the structure and spatial arrangement of the nanoparticles within the microcapsule polyelectrolyte shell, the total shell thickness, and the shell surface charge on their PL properties under continuous illumination. The roles of the charge transfer and its main driving forces in the stability of the microcapsules PL signal have been established, and the design of the microcapsules dually encoded with QDs and MNPs providing the strongest and most stable PL has been determined. Controlling the energy transfer from the QDs and MNPs and the charge transfer from QDs to polyelectrolyte layers in the engineering of magneto-optical microcapsules with a bright and stable PL signal extends their applications to long-lasting quantitative fluorescence imaging.