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The Quest for a Better Biological Imaging System

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Researchers are seeking to make optical probes that are even safer and smaller.

Michael A. Greenwood, News Editor

Imaging biological systems on the cellular and even molecular level requires a material that is as versatile as it is durable. Quantum dots possess many of the attributes necessary for this purpose. The strengths of these nanosize semiconductors include their brightness, tunability and stability — the very properties needed when imaging something as complex as the lymphatic system or the spread of cancer or when tracking the movements of an individual cell. Quantum dots have a few glaring weaknesses, however, that continue to hamper their effectiveness and appeal in many areas of...Read full article

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    Published: March 2008
    Glossary
    quantum dots
    A quantum dot is a nanoscale semiconductor structure, typically composed of materials like cadmium selenide or indium arsenide, that exhibits unique quantum mechanical properties. These properties arise from the confinement of electrons within the dot, leading to discrete energy levels, or "quantization" of energy, similar to the behavior of individual atoms or molecules. Quantum dots have a size on the order of a few nanometers and can emit or absorb photons (light) with precise wavelengths,...
    BiophotonicsFeaturesImaging biological systemsMicroscopyquantum dotssemiconductors

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