Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA.
Annu Rev Anal Chem (Palo Alto Calif). 2013;6(1):143-62. doi: 10.1146/annurev-anchem-060908-155136. Epub 2013 Mar 20.
Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) are light-emitting particles on the nanometer scale that have emerged as a new class of fluorescent labels for chemical analysis, molecular imaging, and biomedical diagnostics. Compared with traditional fluorescent probes, QDs have unique optical and electronic properties such as size-tunable light emission, narrow and symmetric emission spectra, and broad absorption spectra that enable the simultaneous excitation of multiple fluorescence colors. QDs are also considerably brighter and more resistant to photobleaching than are organic dyes and fluorescent proteins. These properties are well suited for dynamic imaging at the single-molecule level and for multiplexed biomedical diagnostics at ultrahigh sensitivity. Here, we discuss the fundamental properties of QDs; the development of next-generation QDs; and their applications in bioanalytical chemistry, dynamic cellular imaging, and medical diagnostics. For in vivo and clinical imaging, the potential toxicity of QDs remains a major concern. However, the toxic nature of cadmium-containing QDs is no longer a factor for in vitro diagnostics, so the use of multicolor QDs for molecular diagnostics and pathology is probably the most important and clinically relevant application for semiconductor QDs in the immediate future.
半导体量子点 (QD) 是纳米级的发光颗粒，已成为化学分析、分子成像和生物医学诊断的新型荧光标记物。与传统荧光探针相比，QD 具有独特的光学和电子特性，如可调谐的发光尺寸、窄而对称的发射光谱以及宽的吸收光谱，从而能够同时激发多种荧光颜色。QD 也比有机染料和荧光蛋白更亮且更耐光漂白。这些特性非常适合在单分子水平上进行动态成像以及在超高灵敏度下进行多重生物医学诊断。在这里，我们讨论了 QD 的基本特性；下一代 QD 的发展；以及它们在生物分析化学、动态细胞成像和医学诊断中的应用。对于体内和临床成像，QD 的潜在毒性仍然是一个主要关注点。然而，含镉的 QD 的毒性不再是体外诊断的一个因素，因此，多色 QD 用于分子诊断和病理学可能是半导体 QD 在不久的将来最重要和最具临床相关性的应用。
