Home > Press > How to Outshine a Quantum Dot
Abstract:
Biologists use fluorescent particles for the visualization and tracking of cells and proteins; generally, the brighter the particle the better. Quantum dots are the brightest colloidal particles available. Nanometer-sized semiconductor crystals, they shine brighter and longer than other fluorescent particles.
However, quantum dots have their limitations, especially when used for biological applications. They can be instable in aqueous environments and are subject to "blinking" or flickering. But perhaps the greatest drawback is their potential toxicity. They are made from alloys such as cadmium selenide or indium arsenide that could be broken down releasing toxic ions.
On the other hand traditional fluorescent materials such as organic dyes are not as bright as quantum dots and suffer from photo-bleaching. Igor Solokov and coworkers have used an inorganic silica shield to prevent the photobleaching of organic dyes. Using sol/gel assembly, they trapped the organic dyes inside a silica matrix, creating particles of the size of 20-50 nm. They found that the relative brightness of a single particle is equivalent to that of up to 770 free dye molecules or up to 39 quantum dots. Moreover, the particles were stable for at least 120 days.
####
For more information, please click here
Copyright © Wiley-VCH Materials Science Journals
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Related Links |
I. Sokolov et al., Adf. Funct. Mater. ; DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201100311
Related News Press |
News and information
Simulating magnetization in a Heisenberg quantum spin chain April 5th, 2024
NRL charters Navy’s quantum inertial navigation path to reduce drift April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Imaging
Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024
The USTC realizes In situ electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy using single nanodiamond sensors November 3rd, 2023
Observation of left and right at nanoscale with optical force October 6th, 2023
Discoveries
Chemical reactions can scramble quantum information as well as black holes April 5th, 2024
New micromaterial releases nanoparticles that selectively destroy cancer cells April 5th, 2024
Utilizing palladium for addressing contact issues of buried oxide thin film transistors April 5th, 2024
Announcements
NRL charters Navy’s quantum inertial navigation path to reduce drift April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Quantum Dots/Rods
A new kind of magnetism November 17th, 2023
IOP Publishing celebrates World Quantum Day with the announcement of a special quantum collection and the winners of two prestigious quantum awards April 14th, 2023
Qubits on strong stimulants: Researchers find ways to improve the storage time of quantum information in a spin rich material January 27th, 2023
NIST’s grid of quantum islands could reveal secrets for powerful technologies November 18th, 2022
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 |
||