ABSTRACT
In the last decade, colloidal quantum dots (QDs) have drawn tremendous attention as a new class of uorophores for a wide range of diagnostic and sensoric applications. eir unique optical properties have led to major advances in uorescence detection and imaging in molecular and cell biology [1]. In developing QDs, it has become possible to link these inorganic semiconductor nanoparticles to biological molecules such as peptides [2], proteins [3-5], and DNA [6,7] for imaging purposes. ey have also been adapted to perform as multicolor uorescent labels for both in vitro and in vivo imaging [8,9]. QDs have also been successfully used as sensors for analytes ranging from small ions to complex molecules like sugars or even neurotransmitters [10-12].
