Home > News > Quantum Dots Get Smaller
May 13th, 2005
Abstract:
For all the hype about nanotechnology, sometimes small isn't quite small enough. Quantum dots enable imaging advances in fields from oncology to neuroscience, yet at a whopping dozen nanometers or more, sometimes they're just too big. "They're the size of proteins," says Marcel P. Bruchez, cofounding scientist at Quantum Dots Corp. "Anything you can do to minimize the size will minimize the impact on the biological system."
A quantum dot's size governs the color of light it emits, but the size that determines the optical properties is only the core-shell. The problem is that for biological applications, quantum dots must be changed from being hydrophobic as grown, to hydrophilic, without a loss in fluorescence or stability.
The solution is to create the high-tech equivalent of a peanut M&M: a semiconductor core (usually cadmium sulfide, selenide, or telluride), coated by an insulating shell, which is then given a ligand coating, sometimes called a cap. The amphiphilic ligand is hydrophobic where it interfaces with the shell and hydrophilic where it interfaces with the biological conjugate (e.g., antibodies, peptides, or oligonucleotides) and the environment.
Source:
* The Scientist
Related Links |
Related News Press |
Possible Futures
Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024
Nanomedicine
High-tech 'paint' could spare patients repeated surgeries March 8th, 2024
Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024
Announcements
What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024
Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024
The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
Premium Products | ||
Only the news you want to read!
Learn More |
||
Full-service, expert consulting
Learn More |
||