Semiconductor Nanocrystals

As biological assays involving fluorophores become more prevalent, due to their high sensitivity, moderate cost and versatility for applications, there is an increasing demand for luminescent reporters with advanced properties for use in bioanalytical applications and biological imaging. The most important properties include the strong resistance to photobleaching and the ability to be discriminated from background fluorescence. We have initiated an innovative strategy to create luminescent reporters possessing the photophysical properties that fulfill these requirements by combining the advantages of semiconductor nanocrystals with those of lanthanide cations. This work is aimed at creating novel antenna for the sensitization of luminescent lanthanide cations emitting in the visible and in the near-infrared. The crystals structure of semiconductor nanocrystals is also used to protect the lanthanides from nonradiative deactivations inducing the increase of the quantum yields.