Physical Society Colloquium
Semiconductor quantum dots for biological applications
Jay Nadeau
Biomedical Engineering
McGill University
Quantum dots have attracted recent attention as labels in biological systems.
However, their semiconductor nature has not yet been exploited to create
novel fluorescent probes. These nanocrystals show a variety of interesting
properties due to their small size and high surface area, including large
redox potential, unusually strong Stark shift, and solvatochromic behavior
resulting from surface dipole interactions. These properties could allow for
fluorescent biological labels that change spectrum as a result of electric
potential, redox potential, hydrophobicity, or other features. I discuss the
barriers to the use of quantum dots in such applications, and present some
preliminary results that include fluorescent images of living cells with
quantum dot labels and time-resolved spectroscopy of quantum dots in aqueous
solutions.
Friday, March 19th 2004, 15:30
Ernest Rutherford Physics Building, Key Auditorium (room 112)
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