Blinking effect and the use of quantum dots in single molecule spectroscopy

Super-Resolution Microscopy Reveals Shape and Distribution of Dislocations in Single-Crystal Nanocomposites

With their potential to offer new properties, single crystals containing nanoparticles provide an attractive class of nanocomposite materials. However, to fully profit from these, it is essential that we can characterise their 3D structures, identifying the locations of individual nanoparticles, and the defects present within the host crystals. Using calcite crystals containing quantum dots as a model system, we here use 3D stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM) to locate the positions of the nanoparticles within the host crystal. The nanoparticles are shown to preferentially associate with dislocations in a manner previously recognised for atomic impurities, rendering these defects visible by STORM. Our images also demonstrate that the types of dislocations formed at the crystal/substrate interface vary according to the nucleation face, and dislocation loops are observed that have entirely different geometries to classic misfit dislocations. This approach offers a rapid, easily accessed, and non-destructive method for visualising the dislocations present within crystals, and gives insight into the mechanisms by which additives become occluded within crystals.

Multifunctional graphene quantum dots for combined photothermal and photodynamic therapy coupled with cancer cell tracking applications

An Indian fig tree serves as a green factory by providing withered leaves as a carbon source for graphene quantum dots synthesis. The quantum dots are multi-functional and have tremendous theranostic biomedical applications.

The influence of continuous vs. pulsed laser excitation on single quantum dot photophysics

The impact of pulsed versus continuous wave (cw) laser excitation on the photophysical properties of single quantum dots (QDs) has been investigated in an experiment in which all macroscopic variables are identical except the nature of laser excitation. Pulsed excitation exaggerates the effects of photobleaching, results in a lower probability of long ON fluorescence blinking events, and leads to shorter fluorescence lifetimes with respect to cw excitation at the same wavelength and average intensity. Spectral wandering, biexciton quantum yields, and power law exponents that describe fluorescence blinking are largely insensitive to the nature of laser excitation. These results explicitly illustrate important similarities and differences in fluorescence dynamics between pulsed and cw excitation, enabling more meaningful comparisons between literature reports and aiding in the design of new experiments to mitigate possible influences of high photon flux on QDs.