Preparation of magnetic CuInS2–ZnS nanocomposites for bioimaging

•We prepared magnetic CuInS2–ZnS nanocomposites (MCZN) by conjugating CuInS2–ZnS quantum dots onto silica-coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles.•The MCZN were uniformly spherical with an average size of 50 nm.•The MCZN exhibited fluorescent and superparamagnetic properties.•The MCZN could be used for cell imaging.

Multifunctional nanoplatform draws increasing attention due to its appealing structural and functional features. In this paper, magnetic CuInS2–ZnS nanocomposites (MCZN) were prepared by integrating silica (SiO2)-encapsulated magnetite (Fe3O4) nanocrystals with 3-mercaptopropanoic acid (MPA)-modified CuInS2–ZnS quantum dots (QD). The obtained MCZN, with an average size of about 50 nm, exhibited both fluorescent and superparamagnetic properties. Confocal laser scanning microscopic observation confirmed that these MCZN could enter cancer cells and successfully image the cells. These properties opened up possibilities for the wide applications of MCZN in multimodal diagnosis and cancer treatments.