Quantum Dots are composed of semiconductor materials such as cadmium selenide and indium phosphide, and can be constrained to nanoparticulate dimensions to achieve high fluorescence ( i.e. gain the capacity to absorb external light and re-emit it at a different frequency). This makes quantum dots ideal for applications such as photovoltaic devices, light emitting diodes (LEDs) and photocatalysts.
The surface of quantum dots can be functionalized with complex biological molecules (antibodies or enzymes), making these fluorescent compounds ideal for biomedical applications such as in vivo imaging, flow cytometry, cell staining and western blotting.
The adsorbed and emitted frequencies of light are dependent on the size, shape and architecture of these particles. The emission profiles of the quantum dots can therefore be tuned by chemical manipulation:
Precision fabrication is therefore the key to achieving high performance quantum dots.
Typically, nanoparticle suppliers provide non-uniform or polydisperse (CV values >20%) quantum dots in which particles have a range of sizes, shapes and architectures. As a result their emission spectra tends to be broad and benign.
Particle Works offers a range of highly monodisperse (CV values <2.5%) quantum dots with narrow emission profiles. These high-performance materials bring benefits such as:
The following nanoparticles in the Particle Works range are suitable for applications such as light emitting materials:
| CdSe Quantum Dots | When processing in organic solvents, we recommend CdSe quantum dots in toluene |
| When fluorescent contrast agents are required, we recommend encapsulated CdSe quantum dots (available on request only) |
