TY - JOUR
T1 - Quantum dots in biology and medicine
AU - Bailey, Robert E.
AU - Smith, Andrew M.
AU - Nie, Shuming
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (R01 GM60562), the Georgia Cancer Coalition (Distinguished Cancer Scholar Award to S.N.), and the Coulter Translational Research Program at Georgia Tech and Emory University. A.M.S. acknowledges the Whitaker Foundation for generous fellowship support. We are grateful to Dr. Xiaohu Gao for stimulating discussions.
PY - 2004/10
Y1 - 2004/10
N2 - Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) are nanometer-sized crystals with unique photochemical and photophysical properties that are not available from either isolated molecules or bulk solids. In comparison with organic dyes and fluorescent proteins, these quantum-confined nanoparticles are brighter, more stable against photobleaching, and can be excited for multicolor emission with a single light source. Recent advances have shown that nanometer-sized semiconductor particles can be covalently linked with biorecognition molecules such as peptides, antibodies, nucleic acids, or small-molecule ligands for use as biological labels. High-quality QDs are also well suited for optical encoding and multiplexing applications due to their broad excitation profiles and narrow/symmetric emission spectra. In this article, we discuss recent developments in QD synthesis and bioconjugation, their applications in molecular and cellular imaging, as well as promising directions for future research.
AB - Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) are nanometer-sized crystals with unique photochemical and photophysical properties that are not available from either isolated molecules or bulk solids. In comparison with organic dyes and fluorescent proteins, these quantum-confined nanoparticles are brighter, more stable against photobleaching, and can be excited for multicolor emission with a single light source. Recent advances have shown that nanometer-sized semiconductor particles can be covalently linked with biorecognition molecules such as peptides, antibodies, nucleic acids, or small-molecule ligands for use as biological labels. High-quality QDs are also well suited for optical encoding and multiplexing applications due to their broad excitation profiles and narrow/symmetric emission spectra. In this article, we discuss recent developments in QD synthesis and bioconjugation, their applications in molecular and cellular imaging, as well as promising directions for future research.
KW - Biological physics
KW - Chemical sensors
KW - Low-dimensional structures
KW - Photoluminescence
KW - Quantum dots
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U2 - 10.1016/j.physe.2004.07.013
DO - 10.1016/j.physe.2004.07.013
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:4944224299
SN - 1386-9477
VL - 25
SP - 1
EP - 12
JO - Physica E: Low-Dimensional Systems and Nanostructures
JF - Physica E: Low-Dimensional Systems and Nanostructures
IS - 1
ER -