Quantum Dots
QDots are brightly fluorescent semconductor nanoparticles. The emission frequency depends on particle size. They have superior qualities with respect to stability (photobleaching), photoemission intensity and band width compared to conventional fluorescent dyes. These properties enable us to track their location in tissue and in cultured cells using fluorescent, confocal and TEM microscopies. We use commercial products from Evident Technologies to study transdermal pentration. Toluene soluble dots are made water soluble using ligand exchange chemistry. Surface coatings of QDs are designed to target specific cell uptake or to invoke biological response in skin.
