Embedding Quantum Dots into Thermally Reactive Polymers

Direct delivery of therapeutic compounds to cellular targets can enhance drug efficacy and safety, but such techniques require careful monitoring within the body. Now, a research team led by Julius Vancso at the A*STAR Institute of Materials Research and Engineering in Singapore has developed polymer microspheres labeled with fluorescent quantum dots that promise to light up the pathways of critical biological processes.

Scientists often attach fluorescent markers, such as chemical dyes, to biomolecules to track their movements inside living cells. Quantum dots—semiconductor nanocrystals with extraordinary light-emitting capabilities—promise to radically advance biological imaging by offering a brighter, longer-lived source of fluorescent light than any comparable dye. Incorporating quantum dots (QDs) into living systems is challenging, however, because the long, hydrophobic carbon chains typically present on the surfaces of QDs make the dots insoluble in water.

Click here to read the full press release