Fluorescent quantum dots (QDs) modified with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and albumin bovine serum (BSA) have profound application in the detection and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. In the present study, the effects and mechanism of PEG and BSA modification on the cytotoxicity of QDs have been explored. It was found that the diameter of the as-prepared QDs, PEG@QDs, BSA@QDs is 3–5 nm, 4–5 nm, and 4–6 nm, respectively. With increase of the treatment time from 0 to 24 h, the HCC cell viability treated with QDs, PEG@QDs, and BSA@QDs obviously decreases, showing a certain time-dependent manner. When the concentration of several nanomaterials is increased from 10 to 90 nM, the cell viability decreases accordingly, exhibiting a certain concentration-dependent manner. Under the same concentration change conditions, the reactive oxygen species contents of cells treated by QDs, PEG@QDs, and BSA@QDs also rise from 7.9 × 103, 6.7 × 103, and 4.7 × 103 to 13.2 × 103, 14.3 × 103, and 12.3 × 103, respectively. In these processes, superoxide dismutase does not play a major role. This study provides strong foundation and useful guidance for QD applications in the diagnosis and treatment of HCC.

We show that, by changing and tuning the direction of the As flux on a rippled substrate, at temperatures higher than 530 °C and high As/In flux ratio, a selective growth of InAs dots can be obtained on GaAs. This is an undisclosed effect related to the Arsenic flux in the molecular beam epitaxial growth of InAs quantum dots (QDs) on GaAs(001). This effect cannot be explained by a shadowing effect, due to the gentle slopes of the mounds (1–3°), and reveals instead that As plays a fundamental role at these growth conditions. We have developed a kinetic model, which takes into account the coupling between cations and anions, and found that the very small surface gradient in the anion flux, due to the oblique evaporation on the mounded surface, is responsible for a massive drain of cations toward the surface anion-rich areas, thus generating the selective growth of QDs.

Quantum dots (QDs) have inspired researchers to develop innovative optoelectronics applications, and especially the current advances in light-emitting diode (LED) displays have attained production level technology. The most challenging issues in developing practical QD displays are the design of highly efficient and stable nanostructures and control of the interfaces between the nanostructures and device components. This article highlights applications of both color-converting and current-driven QD-LEDs, with emphasis on the synthesis of materials specifically tailored for display applications and fabrication techniques that improve device performance, such as cross-linking and transfer-printing of nanocrystal thin films.

Visible light emitting ZnO quantum dots (QDs) were synthesized by a modified sol–gel method and in situ coated with the amino acid cysteine to modify their surface chemistry and govern the crystal growth process. Surface chelation by a hydrophilic thiol such as cysteine offered a fine control over the particle size and modulated the optical emission and its stability by reducing the density of surfacial oxygen deficiencies and also induced the formation of hierarchical nanostructures in the solution. TEM and XRD results confirmed the formation of mono-dispersed and spherical ZnO QDs in the size range 2.5–3.8 nm. The modulation of band gap energies was manifested in the visible emission of cysteine modified QDs, which was found to be remarkably stable for cell labeling applications, when compared to the photoluminescence of conventional ZnO QDs.

Ionoluminescence (IL) is the emission of light from a material due to excitation by an ion beam. In this work, a helium ion microscope (HIM) has been used in conjunction with a luminescence detection system to characterize IL from materials in an analogous way to how cathodoluminescence (CL) is characterized in a scanning electron microscope (SEM). A survey of the helium ion beam induced IL characteristics, including images and spectra, of a variety of materials known to exhibit CL in an SEM is presented. Direct band-gap semiconductors that luminesce strongly in the SEM are found not do so in the HIM, possibly due to defect-related nonradiative pathways created by the ion beam. Other materials do, however, exhibit IL, including a cerium-doped garnet sample, quantum dots, and rare-earth doped LaPO4 nanocrystals. These emissions are a result of transitions between f electron states or transitions across size dependent band gaps. In all these samples, IL is found to decay with exposure to the beam, fitting well to double exponential functions. In an exploration of the potential of this technique for biological tagging applications, imaging with the IL emitted by rare-earth doped LaPO4 nanocrystals, simultaneously with secondary electron imaging, is demonstrated at a range of magnifications.

The present study describes the development and use of a new bioconjugate combining targeted quantum dot labeling with an immunoperoxidase method and explores whether these bioconjugates could specifically and effectively label Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1). The new bioconjugate is designed for the examination of samples both under fluorescent and bright-field microscopy at the same time. For this purpose chlorobis(2-2′-bipyridyl) methacryloyl tyrosine-ruthenium(II) and bis (2-2′-bipyridyl) methacryloyltyrosine-methacryloyltryptophan-ruthenium (II) photosensitive monomers and photosensitive poly(Bis (2-2′-bipyridyl)) methacryloyltyrosine-methacryloyltryptophan-ruthenium(II) were synthesized and characterized. The anti-SOD1 antibody and horseradish peroxidase (HRD) conjugated quantum dots were prepared by using this polymer. The anti-SOD1 antibody and HRD conjugated quantum dots were used in labeling and imaging of SOD1 in rat liver sections. Quantum dot particles were observed as a bright fluorescence in their specific binding locations inside the hepatocytes. The HRD-diaminobenzidine reaction product was observed as brown-colored particles at the same locations under bright-field microscopy. Structural details of the tissue sections could be examined at the same time. The conjugation protocol is simple; the bioconjugate is applicable for efficient cell labeling and can be adapted for imaging of other targets in different tissues. Also, the prepared nanobioconjugates have mechanic stability and can be used for a long period.

A detailed comparison of continuum and valence force field strain calculations in quantum-dot structures is presented with particular emphasis to boundary conditions, their implementation in the finite-element method, and associated implications for electronic states. The first part of this work provides the equation framework for the elastic continuum model including piezoelectric effects in crystal structures as well as detailing the Keating model equations used in the atomistic valence force field calculations. Given the variety of possible structure shapes, a choice of pyramidal, spherical and cubic-dot shapes is made having in mind their pronounced shape differences and practical relevance. In this part boundary conditions are also considered; in particular the relevance of imposing different types of boundary conditions is highlighted and discussed.

Few simple labeling methods exist for simultaneous fluorescence and electron microscopy of bacteria and biofilms. Here we describe the synthesis, characterization, and application of fluorescent nanoparticle quantum dot (QD) conjugates to target microbial species, including difficult to label Gram-negative strains. These QD conjugates impart contrast for both environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) and fluorescence microscopy, permitting observation of living and fixed bacteria and biofilms. We apply these probes for studying biofilms extracted from perennial cold springs in the Canadian High Arctic, which is a particularly challenging system. In these biofilms, sulfur-metabolizing bacteria live in close association with unusual sulfur mineral formations. Following simple labeling protocols with the QD conjugates, we are able to image these organisms in fully-hydrated samples and visualize their relationship to the sulfur minerals using both ESEM and fluorescence microscopy. We then use scanning transmission electron microscopy to observe precipitated sulfur around individual cells and within the biofilm lattice. All combined, this information sheds light on the possible mechanisms of biofilm and mineral structure formation. These new QD conjugates and techniques are highly transferable to many other microbiological applications, especially those involving Gram-negative bacteria, and can be used for correlated fluorescence and electron microscopy.

We study the acousto-optic effect on the polaritonic properties of DNA nanofibers which are fabricated by embedding a DNA wire into a polaritonic material. This is a new research area and can be called nanobiopolaritonics. Polaritonic materials have energy gaps in their dispersion relation due to the coupling between optical photons and photons. The bound states of DNA wire are calculated using transfer matrix method. It is found that some of the bound states of the DNA wire lie within the band gap of the polaritonic material. These states do not decay into the polaritonic material since there are not states available for decay process to occur. This means DNA nanofibers has an extremely high Q factor. We have also studied the acousto-optic effect on the photon absorption in DNA nanofibers doped with ensemble of quantum dots. The quantum dots interact with the DNA wire via electron bound polaritons interaction. We have discovered a switching mechanism in DNA nanofibers. When the resonance energy of the quantum dots lies near bound polaritons states, the system becomes transmitting for frequency of a probe field due to the strong electron bound polaritons interaction. This is can be assigned as ‘ON’ of the switch. However, when the strain field is applied the DNA fiber can now absorb the probe beam. This is can be assigned as ‘OFF’ of the switch.

Harvesting energy directly from sunlight using photovoltaic technology is a way to address growing global energy needs with a renewable resource while minimizing detrimental effects on the environment by reducing atmospheric emissions. This issue of MRS Bulletin on “Organic-Based Photovoltaics” looks at a new generation of solar cells that have the potential to be produced inexpensively. Recent advances in solar power conversion efficiencies have propelled organic-based photovoltaics out of the realm of strictly fundamental research at the university level and into the industrial laboratory setting. Fabricated from organic materials—polymers and molecules—these devices are potentially easier to manufacture than current technologies based on silicon or other materials. In this introductory article, we describe the motivation for pursuing research in this field and provide an overview of the various technical approaches that have been developed to date.We conclude by discussing the challenges that need to be overcome in order for organic photovoltaics to realize their potential as an economically viable path to harvesting energy from sunlight.

InxGa1−xAs quantum dots in GaP(100) crystals prepared by the OMVPE technique are observed along the [011] direction with a newly developed 200-kV spherical aberration(Cs)-corrected HRTEM, a 200-kV annular dark-field (ADF)-STEM, and a 200-kV conventional HRTEM equipped with a thermal field-emission gun. The dots are 6–10 nm in size and strongly strained due to the misfit of about 9% with the GaP substrate and GaP cap layer. All of the cross-sectional high-resolution electron micrographs show dumbbell images of Ga and P atomic columns separated by 0.136 nm in well-oriented and perfect GaP areas, but the interpretable images are limited to those taken with the Cs-corrected HRTEM and ADF-STEM with Fourier filtering of the images. The Cs-corrected HRTEM and ADF-STEM are comparable from the viewpoint of interpretable resolution. A detailed comparison between the Cs-corrected HRTEM images and the simulated ones with electron incidence tilted by 1° to 5° from the [011] zone axis gives information on local lattice bending in the dots from the images around 0.1 nm resolution. This becomes one of the useful techniques newly available from electron microscopy with sub-Ångstrom resolution.

We have used in situ electron microscopy to observe the nucleation of Ge islands on lithographically patterned Si(001) mesas. Images were obtained at video rate during chemical vapor deposition of Ge, using a reflection electron microscopy geometry that allows nucleation to be observed over large areas. By comparing the kinetics of nucleation and coarsening on substrates modified by different annealing conditions, we find that the final island arrangement depends on the nature of the mesa sidewalls, and we suggest that this may be due to changes in diffusion of Ge across the nonplanar surface.

Chemical action between cyclodextrins (CDs) and TOPO-(CdSe)ZnS quantum dots (QDs) generates a water-soluble solution of CD-QDs. Hydrophobic TOPO molecules on surface of the QDs are compatible to thread through the pockets of CDs and make the hydroxyl group on end of CDs to approach the ZnS surface, and then cause the interaction between ZnS and the hydroxyls. In this paper, Photoluminescence of the γ-CD-QD solution appeared about 15 nm of red movement compared with that of the QDs in hexane; 58% replacement of the crystal coordinate bond of Zn-S with that of Zn-O in the ZnS shell was demonstrated by using first-principles density functional theory and the red shift of the photoluminescence of CD-QDs; and –0.11eV of the energy gain of the exchange model was calculated by using an effective mass (EM) model. CD-QDs will provide water-soluble QDs with conjugational group for biology and molecule-device applications.

The continuous displacement field within elastically relaxed GaInAs islands was calculated from digitized HREM images of {110} cross sections of In0.35Ga0.65As layers grown on GaAs by molecular beam epitaxy. Experimental maps of the deformations parallel to the interface (εx) and along the growth direction (εz) were drawn and compared with the ones calculated via the finite element method. It was found that εx exp was systematically higher than εx calc and the significant maximum observed for εz exp within the island could not be found for εz calc. These discrepancies were attributed to a variation of the chemical composition in the island. The maps showing the indium concentration gradient drawn from HREM and FE calculations were compared to quantitative profiles for indium concentration obtained by nanometric X-ray microanalysis in TEM. The measured gradient within the island backs our assumption.