University at Albany, Department of Chemistry, 1400 Washington Ave., Albany, NY 12222, USA.
Int J Mol Sci. 2009 Feb;10(2):441-491. doi: 10.3390/ijms10020441. Epub 2009 Feb 3.
In the past few decades, technology has made immeasurable strides to enable visualization, identification, and quantitation in biological systems. Many of these technological advancements are occurring on the nanometer scale, where multiple scientific disciplines are combining to create new materials with enhanced properties. The integration of inorganic synthetic methods with a size reduction to the nano-scale has lead to the creation of a new class of optical reporters, called quantum dots. These semiconductor quantum dot nanocrystals have emerged as an alternative to organic dyes and fluorescent proteins, and are brighter and more stable against photobleaching than standard fluorescent indicators. Quantum dots have tunable optical properties that have proved useful in a wide range of applications from multiplexed analysis such as DNA detection and cell sorting and tracking, to most recently demonstrating promise for in vivo imaging and diagnostics. This review provides an in-depth discussion of past, present, and future trends in quantum dot use with an emphasis on in vivo imaging and its related applications.
在过去的几十年中，技术取得了巨大的进步，使生物系统的可视化、识别和定量成为可能。其中许多技术进步都发生在纳米尺度上，多个科学学科正在结合，创造具有增强性能的新材料。将无机合成方法与尺寸减小到纳米级相结合，导致了一类新型光学报告器的产生，称为量子点。这些半导体量子点纳米晶体已经成为有机染料和荧光蛋白的替代品，与标准荧光指示剂相比，它们更亮，对光漂白的稳定性更高。量子点具有可调谐的光学性质，已被证明在从多重分析（如 DNA 检测和细胞分选和跟踪）到最近展示出在体内成像和诊断方面的应用的广泛应用中非常有用。本文深入讨论了过去、现在和未来量子点应用的趋势，重点是体内成像及其相关应用。
