Creation of Protein Encapsulated Quantum Dots as Biocompatible Fluorescent Labels

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In order to track the movement of, or find the location of specific proteins in living cells, it is necessary to label them using either a fluorescent, chemiluminescent or radioactive label. In this research we propose the construction of a new biocompatible hybrid material made of the protein apoferritin and a semiconductor nanocrystal (quantum dot) that has better fluorescence properties than currently used fluorescent dyes. This could be used as a tool in the study of both healthy and diseased cells to identify fundamental biochemical processes.