Chem-Bio Analyte Sensing with Hybrid Quantum Dot Constructs

This project aims to develop quantum dots (QDs) based sensors capable of sensitively and quantitatively detecting chemical and/or biological analytes. This new type of sensors may be useful to monitor soldier’s health or detect agents that are threats to the soldier.

Quantum dots possess unique photophysical properties that are the result of their inorganic composition and quantum confinement effects. We have previously shown that QDs, although inherently insensitive to their chemical environment, make powerful fluorescent sensors when coupled to organic molecules designed to interact with analytes with molecular specificity. The performance of QD based sensors depends strongly on the interaction between the QDs and the sensing molecule, which is mediated by the organic ligands at the surface of the QD. Our group has previously reported a multidentate poly(imidazole) ligand (PIL) that renders the QDs soluble in aqueous media, stabilizes the particles for in vivo or in vitro assays and provides handles for functionalization. Here, we continue to make progress towards developing better QD based sensors not only by coupling superior sensing molecules to QDs, but also by designing robust water-soluble ligands, synthesizing new orthogonal functional groups and developing an understanding of the specific and non-specific interactions of QDs with different biological environments.