Using Quantum Dots For Tracking Individual Blood Cells

For a few specific frequencies of short-wave infrared light, maximum biological tissues are almost as transparent as a glass surface. Now, there are some researchers that created a few small particles that can easily be injected into a human body from where those penetrating frequencies are emitted. This new development may offer a completely new way for seeking deep into structures of the internal body such as the fine blood vessels networks. These new findings are extracted from the utilization of light-emitting particles known as quantum dots. A paper was recently written on this topic, his name is Oliver Bruns, he is a member of MIT’s departments of biological engineering, chemistry, chemical engineering as well as mechanical engineering. 

 

 

Researchers commonly use near-infrared imaging for researching biological tissues that have wavelengths fall between 700-900 nm, but wavelengths between 1000-2000 nm have the power to offer better results as human body tissues are more transparent with that light, Bruns explains, “We knew that this imaging mode would be better, but we were lacking high-quality emitters.” A professor of chemistry, Moungi Bawendi, has a specialty with light-emitting particles developed new manners for creating quantum dots in last few years. These nanocrystals are made with semiconductor materials, these emit light whose frequency can easily be tuned precisely by controlling the distinct composition and size of these particles. 

 

The prime key was to bring up a few versions of these quantum dots with emissions that synced the short-wave infrared frequencies and these were bright enough to be detected simply through their surrounding skin and tissues of muscle. The team was successful in creating particles that are, as per Bruns, “orders of magnitude better than previous materials, and that allow unprecedented detail in biological imaging.”