1. Compact and Blinking-Suppressed Quantum Dots for Single-ParticleTracking in Live Cells.
- Author
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Lane, Lucas A., Smith, Andrew M., Lian, Tianquan, and Nie, Shuming
- Subjects
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CELL imaging , *PARTICLE tracks (Nuclear physics) , *QUANTUM dots , *FLUORESCENT proteins , *ORGANIC dyes , *AQUEOUS solutions - Abstract
Quantumdots (QDs) offer distinct advantages over organic dyes and fluorescentproteins forbiological imaging applications because of their brightness, photostability,and tunability. However, a major limitation is that single QDs emitfluorescent light in an intermittent on-and-off fashion called “blinking”.Here we report the development of blinking-suppressed, relativelycompact QDs that are able to maintain their favorable optical propertiesin aqueous solution. Specifically, we show that a linearly gradedalloy shell can be grown on a small CdSe core via a precisely controlledlayer-by-layer process, and that this graded shell leads to a dramaticsuppression of QD blinking in both organic solvents and water. A substantialportion (>25%) of the resulting QDs does not blink (more than 99%of the time in the bright or “on” state). Theoreticalmodeling studies indicate that this type of linearly graded shellnot only can minimize charge carrier access to surface traps but alsocan reduce lattice defects, both of which are believed to be responsiblefor carrier trapping and QD blinking. Further, we have evaluated thebiological utility of blinking-suppressed QDs coated with polyethyleneglycol (PEG)-based ligands and multidentate ligands. The results demonstratethat their optical properties are largely independent of surface coatingsand solvating media, and that the blinking-suppressed QDs can providecontinuous trajectories in live-cell receptor tracking studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2014
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