Hosted by: Mircea Cotlet

Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) have been used extensively for applications in cellular imaging, biosensing, photovoltaics, and solid-state lighting. Despite successes with traditional cadmium selenide QDs, limitations persist because of the fluorescence intermittency (or blinking) of the QD emission, concerns about toxicity, and cross-talk due to broad, overlapping absorption spectra. Thick-shelled QDs, also known as 'giant' nanocrystal quantum dots (g-NQDs) exhibit emission and absorption spectra that can be tailored based on semiconductor composition, core size, and shell thickness. Through these advanced chemistries, we customize the QDs to applications including QD-QD fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based biosensors and cadmium-free NIR emitters for multiplexed tissue-depth imaging.