Light-green and deep-red luminescent semiconductor nanocrystals as bio-imaging ag

描述（由申请人提供）：半导体纳米晶体（量子点），特别是CdS， CdSe和CdTe等，在过去的二十年中得到了广泛的研究，导致它们在发光二极管（led），太阳能电池和生物成像/标记中的集成。虽然利用这些纳米晶体已经实现了高效的深绿色、黄色和红色发射，但由于缺乏合适的材料，具有浅绿色和深红色发射的量子点仍然难以实现。同时，这些含镉纳米晶体的内在毒性也令人担忧，并可能最终限制它们的许多潜在应用（特别是在与人类相关的学科中）。美国国立卫生研究院SBIR项目将开发高度明亮和稳定的浅绿色和深红色发射量子点，可以用作生物显像剂。提出的量子点不含镉或其他重金属元素，因此将在生命和生物医学科学中得到广泛应用。关键词：半导体纳米晶体，无镉量子点，纳米晶体制备，掺杂纳米晶体，浅绿色发光量子点，深红色发光量子点

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Semiconductor nanocrystals (quantum dots), specifically CdS, CdSe and CdTe, etc, have been extensively studied in the past two decades, leading to their integration in light emitting diodes (LEDs), solar cell, and bio-imaging/labeling. Although efficient deep-green, yellow, and red emissions have been realized with these nanocrystals, but quantum dots with light-green and deep-red emissions have remained elusive due to a lack of appropriate materials. Meanwhile, the intrinsic toxicity of these cadmium-containing nanocrystals is also a concern and may eventually limit many of their potential applications (specifically in human related subjects). This NIH SBIR project will develop highly bright and stable light-green and deep-red emitting quantum dots that can be used as bio-imaging agents. The proposed quantum dots contain no cadmium or other heavy metal elements, and thus would find wide applications in life and biomedical sciences. Key words: Semiconductor nanocrystals, cadmium-free quantum dots, nanocrystal production, doped nanocrystals, light-green emitting quantum dots, deep-red emitting quantum dots. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This SBIR project will develop highly bright and stable light-green and deep-red ZnTe based luminescent quantum dots that can be used for bioimaging application.