Sorting fluorescent nanocrystals with DNA

Semiconductor nanocrystals with narrow and tunable fluorescence are covalently linked to oligonucleotides. These biocompounds retain the properties of both nanocrystals and DNA. Therefore, different sequences of DNA can be coded with nanocrystals and still preserve their ability to hybridize to their complements. We report the case where four different sequences of DNA are linked to four nanocrystal samples having different colors of emission in the range of 530-640 nm. When the DNA-nanocrystal conjugates are mixed together, it is possible to sort each type of nanoparticle by using hybridization on a defined micrometer-size surface containing the complementary oligonucleotide. Detection of sorting requires only a single excitation source and an epifluorescence microscope. The possibility of directing fluorescent nanocrystals toward specific biological targets and detecting them, combined with their superior photostability compared to organic dyes, opens the way to improved biolabeling experiments, such as gene mapping on a nanometer scale or multicolor microarray analysis.

Epitaxial growth and photochemical annealing of graded CdS/ZnS shells on colloidal CdSe nanorods

We report the preparation and structural characterization of core/shell CdSe/CdS/ZnS nanorods. A graded shell of larger band gap is grown around CdSe rods using trioctylphosphine oxide as a surfactant. Interfacial segregation is used to preferentially deposit CdS near the core, providing relaxation of the strain at the core/shell interface. The reported synthesis allows for variation of the shell thickness between one and six monolayers, on core nanorods ranging from aspect ratios of 2:1 to 10:1. After an irreversible photochemical annealing process, the core/shell nanorods have increased quantum efficiencies and are stable in air under visible or UV excitation. In addition to their robust optical properties, these samples provide an opportunity for the study of the evolution of epitaxial strain as the shape of the core varies from nearly spherical to nearly cylindrical.

Hybrid nanorod-polymer solar cells

We demonstrate that semiconductor nanorods can be used to fabricate readily processed and efficient hybrid solar cells together with polymers. By controlling nanorod length, we can change the distance on which electrons are transported directly through the thin film device. Tuning the band gap by altering the nanorod radius enabled us to optimize the overlap between the absorption spectrum of the cell and the solar emission spectrum. A photovoltaic device consisting of 7-nanometer by 60-nanometer CdSe nanorods and the conjugated polymer poly-3(hexylthiophene) was assembled from solution with an external quantum efficiency of over 54% and a monochromatic power conversion efficiency of 6.9% under 0.1 milliwatt per square centimeter illumination at 515 nanometers. Under Air Mass (A.M.) 1.5 Global solar conditions, we obtained a power conversion efficiency of 1.7%.

Activation volumes for solid-solid transformations in nanocrystals

The transition between four- and six-coordinate structures in CdSe nanocrystals displays simple transition kinetics as compared with the extended solid, and we determined activation volumes from the pressure dependence of the relaxation times. Our measurements indicate that the transformation takes place by a nucleation mechanism and place strong constraints on the type of microscopic motions that lead to the transformation. The type of analysis presented here is difficult for extended solids, which transform by complicated kinetics and involve ill-defined domain volumes. Solids patterned on the nanoscale may prove to be powerful models for the general study of structural transitions in small systems, as well as in extended solids.

Ultrahigh-resolution multicolor colocalization of single fluorescent nanocrystals

A new method for in vitro and possibly in vivo ultrahigh-resolution colocalization and distance measurement between biomolecules is described, based on semiconductor nanocrystal probes. This ruler bridges the gap between FRET and far-field (or near-field scanning optical microscope) imaging and has a dynamic range from few nanometers to tens of micrometers. The ruler is based on a stage-scanning confocal microscope that allows the simultaneous excitation and localization of the excitation point-spread-function (PSF) of various colors nanocrystals while maintaining perfect registry between the channels. Fit of the observed diffraction and photophysics-limited images of the PSFs with a two-dimensional Gaussian allows one to determine their position with nanometer accuracy. This new high-resolution tool opens new windows in various molecular, cell biology and biotechnology applications.

Linearly polarized emission from colloidal semiconductor quantum rods

Colloidal quantum rods of cadmium selenide (CdSe) exhibit linearly polarized emission. Empirical pseudopotential calculations predict that slightly elongated CdSe nanocrystals have polarized emission along the long axis, unlike spherical dots, which emit plane-polarized light. Single-molecule luminescence spectroscopy measurements on CdSe quantum rods with an aspect ratio between 1 and 30 confirm a sharp transition from nonpolarized to purely linearly polarized emission at an aspect ratio of 2. Linearly polarized luminescent chromophores are highly desirable in a variety of applications.

Time-gated biological imaging by use of colloidal quantum dots

The long (but not too long) fluorescence lifetime of CdSe semiconductor quantum dots was exploited to enhance fluorescence biological imaging contrast and sensitivity by time-gated detection. Significant and selective reduction of the autofluorescence contribution to the overall image was achieved, and enhancement of the signal-to-background ratio by more than an order of magnitude was demonstrated.

Colloidal nanocrystal shape and size control: the case of cobalt

We show that a relatively simple approach for controlling the colloidal synthesis of anisotropic cadmium selenide semiconductor nanorods can be extended to the size-controlled preparation of magnetic cobalt nanorods as well as spherically shaped nanocrystals. This approach helps define a minimum feature set needed to separately control the sizes and shapes of nanocrystals. The resulting cobalt nanocrystals produce interesting two- and three-dimensional superstructures, including ribbons of nanorods.

Ultrahigh-resolution multicolor colocalization of single fluorescent probes

An optical ruler based on ultrahigh-resolution colocalization of single fluorescent probes is described in this paper. It relies on the use of two unique families of fluorophores, namely energy-transfer fluorescent beads (TransFluoSpheres) and semiconductor nanocrystal quantum dots, that can be excited by a single laser wavelength but emit at different wavelengths. A multicolor sample-scanning confocal microscope was constructed that allows one to image each fluorescent light emitter, free of chromatic aberrations, by scanning the sample with nanometer scale steps with a piezo-scanner. The resulting spots are accurately localized by fitting them to the known shape of the excitation point-spread function of the microscope. We present results of two-dimensional colocalization of TransFluoSpheres (40 nm in diameter) and of nanocrystals (3-10 nm in diameter) and demonstrate distance-measurement accuracy of better than 10 nm using conventional far-field optics. This ruler bridges the gap between fluorescence resonance energy transfer, near- and far-field imaging, spanning a range of a few nanometers to tens of micrometers.

Biomineralization. Naturally aligned nanocrystals

The aggregation of nanocrystals has long been believed to result in disordered solids. In his Perspective, Alivisatos discusses recent evidence that nanocrystals may also form oriented assemblies. He highlights the work by Banfield et al. in this issue, who show that such alignment can also occur in natural systems. The results may be of importance not only for geochemistry but also for the synthesis of advanced artificial materials.

Shape change as an indicator of mechanism in the high-pressure structural transformations of CdSe nanocrystals

X-ray diffraction was used to monitor the structure of 45 A diameter CdSe nanocrystals as they transformed repeatedly between fourfold and sixfold coordinated crystal structures. Simulations of the diffraction patterns reveal that a shape change occurs as the crystals transform. They also show that stacking faults are generated in the transition from the high- to the low-pressure phase. The shape change and stacking fault generation place significant constraints on the possible microscopic mechanism of the phase transition.