Abstract
Recent advances in the application of semiconductor nanocrystals, or quantum dots, as biochemical sensors are reviewed. Quantum dots have unique optical properties that make them promising alternatives to traditional dyes in many luminescence based bioanalytical techniques. An overview of the more relevant progresses in the application of quantum dots as biochemical probes is addressed. Special focus will be given to configurations where the sensing dots are incorporated in solid membranes and immobilized in optical fibers or planar waveguide platforms. © 2007 by MDPI.
Figures
![Figure 4. Emission spectra of acrylic/QDs nanospheres acting as: (a) single K+ sensors after addition of KHCO3 solutions. (b) Single Cl- sensors after addition of NaCl solutions. (c) K+/Cl2 multi-ion sensors after addition of KCl solutions. Concentrations: 0mM(black), 2 mM(red), 5mM(green), 10mM (blue), 20 mM (cyan), 50 mM (pink) and 200 mM (yellow). Fluorescent signals were recorded between 450 and 750 nm (λex = 400 nm) with a spectrofluorimeter (Cary Eclipse, Varian) in a 96-well microplate. For all samples the pH was fixed at 7.0 by using phosphate buffer. [101] - Reproduced by permission of The Royal Society of Chemistry.](https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/com.mendeley.prod.article-extracted-content/images/c848a397-df16-3baa-b33a-06f1fbc88865/thumbnail-a96071d1-3a0a-4fa4-a366-6b18ecaa29fe-3.png)
![Figure 5. Specific labelling of live cells with QDs. (a) Schematic representation of the QD antibody conjugation strategy. (b) Labelling of cell membranes with the QD bioconjugates: only cells expressing detectable levels of Pgp–GFP were labelled, those that did not express Pgp–GFP (marked with arrows) did not bind with QD probes. Yellow coloring in the fluorescence image indicates an overlap of green (Pgp–GFP) and red (QDs bioconjugate) fluorescence emission. (See Ref. [109, 116] for further details) Reproduced from Trends in Cell Biology, 14, Jaiswal, J. K. and Simon, S. M., Potentials and pitfalls of fluorescent quantum dots for biological imaging, 497-504, Copyright (2004), with permission from Elsevier.](https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/com.mendeley.prod.article-extracted-content/images/c848a397-df16-3baa-b33a-06f1fbc88865/thumbnail-cd894601-ce80-4c76-b56f-5eb55f200163-4.png)
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