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Effect of shell thickness and composition on blinking suppression and the blinking mechanism in ‘giant’ CdSe/CdS nanocrystal quantum dots

  1. Javier Vela1,
  2. Han Htoon2,
  3. Yongfen Chen3,
  4. Young-Shin Park2,
  5. Yagnaseni Ghosh2,
  6. Peter M. Goodwin4,
  7. James H. Werner4,
  8. Nathan P. Wells5,
  9. Joanna L. Casson2,
  10. Jennifer A. Hollingsworth2,*

Article first published online: 12 JUL 2010

DOI: 10.1002/jbio.201000058

Issue

Journal of Biophotonics

Journal of Biophotonics

Special Issue: Nanobiophotonics

Volume 3, Issue 10-11, pages 706–717, October 2010

Additional Information

How to Cite

Vela, J., Htoon, H., Chen, Y., Park, Y.-S., Ghosh, Y., Goodwin, P. M., Werner, J. H., Wells, N. P., Casson, J. L. and Hollingsworth, J. A. (2010), Effect of shell thickness and composition on blinking suppression and the blinking mechanism in ‘giant’ CdSe/CdS nanocrystal quantum dots. J. Biophoton., 3: 706–717. doi: 10.1002/jbio.201000058

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA

  2. 2

    Chemistry Division and the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA

  3. 3

    Life Technologies, Eugene, Oregon 97402, USA

  4. 4

    Materials Physics and Applications Division, Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA

  5. 5

    LIDAR and Atomic Clocks, Photonics Technology Department, Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, CA 90245, USA

*Phone: +01 505 665 1246, Fax: +01 505 665 0743

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 16 SEP 2010
  2. Article first published online: 12 JUL 2010
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 19 JUN 2010
  4. Manuscript Revised: 11 JUN 2010
  5. Manuscript Received: 20 APR 2010

Funded by

  • NIH-NIGMS. Grant Number: 1R01GM084702–01
  • Los Alamos National Laboratory Directed Research and Development Funds

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Keywords:

  • nanocrystalline materials;
  • quantum dots;
  • fluorescence;
  • giant nanocrystal quantum dot;
  • CdSe/CdS;
  • blinking suppression;
  • single particle tracking;
  • bioimaging and microscopy;
  • advanced optical microscopy;
  • advanced spectroscopy

Abstract

We recently developed an inorganic shell approach for suppressing blinking in nanocrystal quantum dots (NQDs) that has the potential to dramatically improve the utility of these fluorophores for single-NQD tracking of individual molecules in cell biology. Here, we consider in detail the effect of shell thickness and composition on blinking suppression, focusing on the CdSe/CdS core/shell system. We also discuss the blinking mechanism as understood through profoundly altered blinking statistics. We clarify the dependence of blinking behavior and photostability on shell thickness, as well as on interrogation times. We show that, while the thickest-shell systems afford the greatest advantages in terms of enhanced optical properties, thinner-shell NQDs may be adequate for certain applications requiring relatively shorter interrogation times. Shell thickness also determines the sensitivity of the NQD optical properties to aqueous-phase transfer, a critical step in rendering NQDs compatible with bioimaging applications. Lastly, we provide a proof-of-concept demonstration of the utility of these unique NQDs for fluorescent particle tracking. (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

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