Soldado Ana, Barrio Laura Cid, Díaz-Gonzalez María, de la Escosura-Muñiz Alfredo, Costa-Fernandez Jose Manuel
Department of Physical and Analytical Chemistry, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain.
Department of Physical and Analytical Chemistry, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain.
Adv Clin Chem. 2022;107:1-40. doi: 10.1016/bs.acc.2021.07.001. Epub 2021 Aug 27.
Quantum dots (QDs) are crystalline inorganic semiconductor nanoparticles a few nanometers in size that possess unique optical electronic properties vs those of larger materials. For example, QDs usually exhibit a strong and long-lived photoluminescence emission, a feature dependent on size, shape and composition. These special optoelectronic properties make them a promising alternative to conventional luminescent dyes as optical labels in biomedical applications including biomarker quantification, biomolecule targeting and molecular imaging. A key parameter for use of QDs is to functionalize their surface with suitable (bio)molecules to provide stability in aqueous solutions and efficient and selective tagging biomolecules of interest. Researchers have successfully developed biocompatible QDs and have linked them to various biomolecule recognition elements, i.e., antibodies, proteins, DNA, etc. In this chapter, QD synthesis and characterization strategies are reviewed as well as the development of nanoplatforms for luminescent biosensing and imaging-guided targeting. Relevant biomedical applications are highlighted with a particular focus on recent progress in ultrasensitive detection of clinical biomarkers. Finally, key future research goals to functionalize QDs as diagnostic tools are explored.
量子点（QDs）是尺寸为几纳米的结晶无机半导体纳米颗粒，与较大材料相比，具有独特的光学电子特性。例如，量子点通常表现出强烈且寿命长的光致发光发射，这一特性取决于尺寸、形状和组成。这些特殊的光电特性使它们成为传统发光染料在生物医学应用（包括生物标志物定量、生物分子靶向和分子成像）中作为光学标记物的有前途的替代品。使用量子点的一个关键参数是用合适的（生物）分子对其表面进行功能化，以在水溶液中提供稳定性，并有效且选择性地标记感兴趣的生物分子。研究人员已成功开发出生物相容性量子点，并将它们与各种生物分子识别元件（即抗体、蛋白质、DNA等）连接起来。在本章中，将对量子点的合成和表征策略以及用于发光生物传感和成像引导靶向的纳米平台的发展进行综述。重点介绍了相关的生物医学应用，特别关注临床生物标志物超灵敏检测的最新进展。最后，探讨了将量子点功能化作为诊断工具的关键未来研究目标。
