Semiconductor Nanocrystals as Fluorescent Biological Labels
Marcel Bruchez Jr.,
Mario Moronne,
Peter Gin,
Shimon Weiss,
*
A. Paul Alivisatos
*
Semiconductor nanocrystals were prepared for use as fluorescent
probes in biological staining and diagnostics. Compared with conventional fluorophores, the nanocrystals have a narrow, tunable, symmetric emission spectrum and are photochemically stable. The advantages of the broad, continuous excitation spectrum were
demonstrated in a dual-emission, single-excitation labeling experiment
on mouse fibroblasts. These nanocrystal probes are thus complementary
and in some cases may be superior to existing fluorophores.
M. Bruchez Jr. and A. P. Alivisatos, Department of Chemistry,
University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, and Materials Sciences
Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), 1 Cyclotron
Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. M. Moronne and P. Gin, Life
Sciences Division, LBNL, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. S. Weiss, Materials Sciences Division and Physical
Biosciences Division. LBNL, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
*
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
sweiss{at}mhl.lbl.gov and alivis{at}uclink4.berkeley.edu
